The First and the Only: The Dragon War
by June Odyssey
Summary: Hiccup wasn't technically banished. He left before anyone could do more than get angry. Now people call him The First dragon rider and a hard year later he has a group of dragon riders at his back. Tuffnut decides to go on a solo adventure and before he knows it he's riding a dragon and joining Hiccup's battle against the Red Death. The tribes have other ideas. And Dagur is a pain.
1. This is Home and That was Berk

**Disclaimer: Lettin' ya'll in on a lil' secret... *whispers***_ I don't own HTTYD!_ **Better believe it.**

**Chapter 1**

**This is Home and That was Berk**

The First and the Only.

Hiccup thought it was a singularly stupid title but, sadly, he had no say in it. Someone had coined the term and it caught on like a wildfire. Hiccup wished he knew who it was. Then he could arrest whoever-it-was for their crime against creativity. At the very least, it made sense. The first dragon rider and the only night fury.

Hiccup sighed and watched the sun peek up from behind the horizon, slowly illuminating the island. He still wished they could have come up with something more... epic.

"Well, Toothless," Hiccup said, leaning farther back against the dragon's shoulder. "This is it. The one year mark."

Toothless lifted his head from his paws and looked at Hiccup inquisitively.

"Since we left," Hiccup explained. "One year since we left Berk for good."

Toothless grunted, and Hiccup imagined he was saying, _and good riddance_.

Hiccup chuckled. "You got that right, buddy. I think we've come a long way since then."

Twisting away from the sunset, Hiccup looked behind them at their little earth-and-stone village. Most people were still asleep, savoring their day to sleep in since Hiccup hadn't planned any exercises for today. He had decided last night to let everyone have the day to play with their dragons, sleep, and just generally relax. They deserved it. None of them had seriously complained (they jokingly complained all the time) about the excessive and rigorous work-outs and training regimes Hiccup put them through every day. Hiccup was proud of them.

"So," Hiccup said, returning his gaze to the flaming red and pomegranate sunrise as he addressed his best friend. "What do you want to do today, Toothless. It's just you and me."

Toothless perked up, his ear sensors straight up and he wiggled with excitement.

"You're absolutely right, pal," Hiccup agreed. "We should go flying."

They didn't have a whole lot of time to themselves now that they had taken on more vikings and dragons. Hiccup spent a lot of time organizing and teaching the vikings, as well as working their smithy to make saddles. Thankfully, Drott had come along with enough blacksmithing skill to pick up leather work and saddle-making pretty quickly, which took a load off Hiccup's shoulders. But Hiccup still had many, many other things to do.

Toothless himself had work cut out for him as well. The Night Fury was constantly persuading wild dragons to give the humans a chance. Not only that, they had to work to keep them from following the host of dragons carrying food to the Red Death back on the nest. But Hiccup wasn't ready to face that dragon yet. He hadn't even sent anyone but himself as a scout to see if it had any weaknesses. He wanted his little rag-tag group of dragons and riders to be as ready as humanly and dragonly possible before they faced it.

Hiccup and Toothless quietly watched the sunrise for another twenty minutes until the sun had completely cleared the horizon and the brilliant hues of reds, oranges, and purples had faded to a myriad of blues. Then the twosome headed over to their great hall, which was really just a huge, circular pavilion with a fire pit in the center and tables placed spaciously around it. Breakfast was already out on the table courtesy of Aesa, their cook.

By the time Hiccup had started eating his chicken and Toothless had dug into the feeding station full of fish, a few vikings and their dragons were creeping out of their little stone houses. Obviously the dragons were way more cheery and awake than the vikings.

Hall Onundrson sat down with a plop next to Hiccup, eyes half-closed and his Nadder bouncing cheerily behind him over to Toothless. He set his food and drink on the wooden table and yawned.

"Good – " Hall yawned again mid-sentence. "G'morning, Hiccup."

Hiccup smiled. Hall was almost impossible to wake up in the mornings. If it weren't for his Nadder, Brighteyes, Hall would probably never get up in the mornings. That dragon deserved a medal. Drott was making it.

"Good morning, Hall," Hiccup greeted back, taking a sip of his water.

Hall plunked his papers, soon to be filled with the patrol schedule, onto the table next to his plate. He dove into his food with fervor that matched a dragon's and didn't say anything else to Hiccup.

Shaking his head, Hiccup smiled. Some things never change. He slid the papers over and checked yesterday's patrol schedule to see who was next.

"Torfi has morning patrol," Hiccup said aloud, though Hall probably wasn't listening. "Lodin has afternoon. Arni has evening, and I have midnight to sunrise."

Hiccup scribbled that down on the paper and glanced up as Aesa slid onto the bench across from him and Hall. "Are Tofa and Firescales back from their patrol yet?"

Aesa nodded and took a bite of her food. "She went straight to bed. About an hour ago. Who has this morning?"

"Torfi," Hiccup responded. "I'll make sure to tell him."

Hall finished off his plate and licked his fingers clean. "Sounds good. Brighteyes and I are heading to Bardikk with a few others."

Hiccup nodded. Bardikk was the closest island with a semblance of a market that somewhat tolerated their presence on Market Day. Today was Market Day, which was why Hiccup chose it as their day off in case anyone wanted to go.

"I'm going," Aesa put in. "And so are Drott and Lodin. I think Tofa was planning to come after she got some sleep."

"Alright, just make sure Lodin's back in time for his shift," Hiccup said, rising from the bench. "Toothless and I will be around."

Hall smirked, shaking his head. "Aren't you always?"

Hiccup shrugged with a smile and picked up his dishes. "I'll see you around. C'mon, Toothless."

Toothless pulled his head out of the feeding station and bounced happily after Hiccup, occasionally bumping his head against the viking's back to hurry him along.

"I'm going, I'm going!" Hiccup exclaimed, grinning at the dragon.

Once he'd disposed of his plate and cup Hiccup raced his best friend to their house (Toothless won) and pulled out their saddle and harness. As soon as Hiccup had his feet in the pedals Toothless was in the air.

* * *

Trader Johan finished selling things to the good people of Berk a few minutes ago, and Tuffnut, for the first time in forever, decided to stay and listen to the news he brought. Why? Well, he was attempting the seemingly impossible. He was going to be... _different _from Ruffnut.

Yes, he and Ruffnut had gotting into _another_ sibling squabble, but a little more serious than usual. The twins did everything together, owned everything together, and practically thought everything together. To be honest, they were both fed up with that so they had agreed somewhat civilly (shocker, I know) to be different.

Tuffnut walked up to the group who had gathered to hear the news; Stoick, random-viking-Tuffnut-didn't-know, Gobber, other unknown viking, Astrid, someone else he didn't know, Fishlegs, another viking, Spitelout and Snotlout, and...

"Ruffnut! What are you doing here?" Tuffnut demanded. "This was my idea."

Ruffnut's expression turned livid and she shoved him in the chest. "No, it was my idea first!"

Astrid quickly stepped in. "Guys!"

Ruffnut stormed off disgustedly. "Fine, I'm going this way. _Don't_ follow me!"

"I won't!" Tuffnut called after her.

Astrid huffed and rolled her eyes, turning back to Johan. "You were saying about Bog Island?"

Tuffnut honestly gave listening a shot... for about 10 seconds. Seriously! Who cared how old Camicazi was, and what new traditions Bertha had put in place?

Tuffnut tuned back in when Stoick said, "Thank you, Johan, for bringing us news."

The crowd started to disperse but Johan piped up again, "Actually, there is one other bit of news. It's been circulating as a rumor for a while and I didn't really believe it until I saw it myself."

Rumors? Johan always told rumors, however strange. Why hadn't they heard this before? This sounded remotely interesting. Tuffnut stayed.

"What is it, Johan?" Gobber asked curiously.

"Well..." Johan wrung his hands and said hesitantly. "It seems there's a group of vikings making nice with the dragons."

Absolute silence. No one moved. No one said anything.

"What?" Stoick asked quietly, his tone taking a hard edge.

Now it made sense why Johan hadn't told them until he'd confirmed. Ever since Hiccup had made friends with a Monstrous Nightmare and flown off on it a year ago... well, this would obviously be a sore subject.

"I don't know exactly who they are," Johan said. "I've only seen two of them with one of those Nadders and a Gronckle. They seemed pretty young. Just teens. Nobody knows where they live. Except for one group who apparently attacked their island a couple of months ago. People say they came back from it with burned sails and broken ships. A few of 'em stop by the markets every once in a while, mostly the one on Bardikk. So most people reckon they're somewhere around that area."

No one seemed to know how to respond to that. A few people muttered, "traitors" or "friends with the devils" and so on.

"How many of them are there?" Astrid asked, but it was hard to tell if she was curious or plotting their downfall.

"Oh, just a few," Johan said. "A small number. Though apparently they welcome anyone who wants to join 'em. Which isn't that many. I don't know if... Hiccup is with them. I haven't seen. But their leader is a fellow people call The First and he rides a Night Fury they call The Only."

The fact that someone had tamed a Night Fury, or made a deal with the devil or whatever, went in one ear and right out the other. Instead, one thought stood at the forefront of Tuffnut's mind. Anyone could join?

As in... anyone. As in... Tuffnut. It was going to be Market Day on a few islands in four or five days. Yeah, he knew thing, don't be so surprised. And the one word that danced around his mind was _adventure_. A half-baked plan formulated in Tuffnut's mind. He could stow away. Ride _dragons_, who were, by the way, some of the most destructive creatures _ever_. And to top it off, Ruffnut wouldn't think of it because she wasn't here.

Tuffnut grinned.

* * *

**Hi, people of the HTTYD fandom. I'm new to here but not to fanfiction. I am, however, an avid HTTYD fan. Any idea how many times I've seen that movie? Too many times to count. And I'm still watching it. As well as all the HTTYD 2 trailers. They make me melt on the inside.**

**Does anyone think Tuffnut was out of character? I don't like the tv show version of him so I just kinda went with the flow. Did he turn out okay?**

**Review anyone?**


	2. Welcome to the Island With No Name!

**Disclaiming: *singing in Dory voice* Keep disclaiming, keep disclaiming. What do we do? We dis-is-claim!**

**Chapter 2**

**Welcome to the Island With No Established Name!**

One thing Tuffnut had failed to work out; sustenance. Bardikk was three days away, so Trader Johan would arrive the day before Market Day so that he could take advantage of the whole day of selling. But while Tuffnut was manly enough to go without food for three days, water was another issue. In the end though, it was his stomach, the traitor, that gave him away. It happened that night when Tuffnut smelled the aroma of fresh caught fish cooked on a controlled fire.

"What! Who's there!?" Johan had shouted when he heard the first stampede of yaks.

Man, his cover was blown! Tuffnut clutched his stomach and mentally told it to shut up. It didn't.

"Oh," Trader Johan said, he tone becoming knowing. "I have a stowaway, don't I?"

Ah, well, may as well show himself. Tuffnut stood up in his barrel, feeling uncertain.

"Tuffnut, is it?" Johan asked.

"Maybe," Tuffnut said, trying to figure out if he should look wary or open.

"Oh, don't be like that," Johan said, setting down his knife on his dinner table, which consisted of a large barrel. "You're welcome here."

"I am?" Tuffnut asked, confused. Weren't people supposed to be unhappy when you stowed away?

"Of course!" Johan exclaimed cheerily. "You coulda just asked, no need to be sneaky."

"Oh," was all Tuffnut said. That certainly would have been easier. But hey, not nearly as fun. And now he could eat, too!

"Come on, have some fish," Johan invited. "Where were you planning on going?"

"Barkik or wherever," Tuffnut said absently as he took a large bite of the fish.

"Bardikk," Johan corrected. "What for? Want to see a Market Day?"

Tuffnut opened his mouth (which was full of fish flesh) to respond but Johan beat him to it. "Oh, oh! You want to go join the dragon riders, don't you?"

Tuffnut swallowed and agreed. "Yeah, I do."

"And why would that be?" Johan questioned.

Tuffnut didn't really want to explain the whole thing with Ruffnut so he decided to give him the short answer. "Dragons are really destructive!"

Trader Johan raised his eyebrows. "Fair enough."

That was all the said on the subject.

* * *

For the first time in his life Tuffnut woke up bright and early (except for that one time he and Ruffnut pranked half the village at once, but that's besides the point). He left Johan and headed up the docks. All around people were setting up stalls with their goods in what seemed to be the village square.

Next problem. How was he supposed to find the dragon riders (which Tuffnut was pretty sure included Hiccup)? Would they come with their dragons or just come up in a boat like a normal viking. Personally, Tuffnut thought that would be rather boring. I mean, seriously, if you have a dragon that you can _fly,_ why take a boat? _Boring! _They would most likely come on their dragons. But would they even come at all? Eh, what the heck.

"Uh, excuse me!" Tuffnut shouted to get people's attention. "Anyone know if the dragon riders are coming today?!"

Everyone turned and looked at him like he was nuts. Well, he was, but that was immaterial. It was just a question. A girl who looked about twelve ran up to him and grabbed his arm, tugging him away from the center of attention.

"Are you crazy?" she demanded in a whisper, pulling him up next to a building.

"Yeah," Tuffnut responded immediately.

The girl gave him an exasperated look and said slowly, as if speaking to a child, "You don't just announce to the island that you're looking for the dragon riders."

"Why not?" Tuffnut asked. Honestly, it was just a question!

"Why not?" the girl echoed. "Because, nitwit, the dragon riders aren't exactly welcome here, and joining them is almost as bad as becoming an Outcast."

"So? Sounds exciting," Tuffnut said.

With a long-suffering sigh the girl said, "They don't generally show their faces. Their identities are secret. They wear hoods or helmets if they come with their dragons, probably as a safety measure."

"Still don't see how this applies," Tuffnut said, confused.

Rolling her eyes, the girl explained, "You just showed your face to all of them, stupid. Now they know who you are."

"Dangerous." Tuffnut grinned. "I like it."

"You are impossible," the girl told him and turned to leave.

"Wait," Tuffnut called. "Do you know if they're coming today?"

The girl shrugged. "They didn't last time, but I've heard they come often. It just depends. If you're gonna join them you should wait until they're about to leave and then approach them. Sometimes villagers try to stop people from joining. You'd better watch your back."

"Oh, okay." That was definitely good to know. "Thanks."

The girl gave him an appraising look, and Tuffnut tried to decide if it was an approving look or if she was just thinking he was insane.

"I'm Hanna Hergeirson," she said at last, offering her hand.

Tuffnut shook her hand. "Tuffnut Thorston, prankster extraordinaire!"

Hanna smiled in spite of herself and shook her head. "Good luck, Tuffnut. I'll see you around."

Hanna left, and Tuffnut stepped away from the building and walked back into the square. Five minutes later he was very glad Hanna had warned him.

"You say yer gonna join them dragon riders, lad?" a big burly viking asked.

"Yeah, danger and adventure!" Tuffnut responded enthusiastically.

The viking shook his head. "You don' know what yer getting' yerself into, lad. Them dragon riders are _evil._ I heard they carry off small children in the middle of the night. Happened on another island just a little ways from here."

"Uhhh..." Tuffnut tried to formulate an answer and ended up just saying, "Thanks for the warning."

The viking nodded. "O' Course. Stay away from those types, lad. They're no good. Don't make a decision you'll regret."

His was just the first of many 'warnings' Tuffnut received that day.

"They don' have human hearts!" one woman, a tailor, told him while she folded fabrics. "They cut 'em out an' replace 'em wit' dragon hearts! They're monsters!"

"They sacrifice blood, I tell you," said a cobbler, setting a pair of boots on his counter. "Every night they cut their arms and burn the blood for strange dragon-gods."

"No, no!" the cobbler's wife corrected him. "They worship Loki, the lot of them!"

"I heard they grow scales themselves," said an elder, eye twitching. "Become, grr, _one with the beast._"

"Have you heard about their leader, The First?" asked the village's blacksmith. "They say he's got no eyes. Just pits of fire and darkness. Who knows what the rest of his face is like. He wears a helmet to cover it up."

"The First, there's a nasty fellow," said a woman hanging out wet clothing. "Savage creature, he is. Dragon eyes and dragon teeth, he's got."

"Those dragons are devils, lad," warned another viking, patting his yak's shoulder. "Don't believe any tales of grandeur about them. Every time they land on the dock they stare at us with their evil eyes. They'll rip you apart if you don't promise to serve them! And then _poof!_ Just like that you're enslaved to a monster."

And so much more.

After he heard that dragons and their riders were magical illusions made to lure you to your death, Tuffnut was fed up with the rumors. I won't go into the details, but suffice to say by the time the dragon riders arrived the village was more than willing to hand Tuffnut over to them. In fact, they wished him well. Tuffnut was rather satisfied about that. _And_ he accomplished all of it _without_ Ruffnut. He was really coming along.

* * *

Lodin was planning on getting a new pair of boots and then hopping back on Flire (get, Flier and Fire? No? Well, he thought it was clever) to fly home. He thought it would be a quiet, quick trip before his patrol shift. Lodin, nor anyone else, expected the residents of Bardikk to practically shove a teenage Viking with blonde dreadlocks at them and all but beg them to take him.

Lodin glanced at Drott, Hall, and Aesa. "Sure, as soon as I buy a new pair of boots I can take him back home."

A new pair of boots were thrust into Lodin's arms.

"Have 'em fer free, lad," the cobbler said, eyes wide and pleading.

All the villagers stared at the blonde viking like he was bad luck. One girl in particular watched the proceedings with a knowing smile and an amused shake of her head. Lodin shrugged. He wasn't complaining. He was getting free boots out of this deal.

"Okay, let's go then." Lodin motioned to the other teen, and the whole village exhaled a collective sigh of relief.

Lodin mounted back up on Flire, his spritely brown and blue Nadder, and offered a hand to the other Viking. Without reservation he grabbed Lodin's hand and swung up behind him.

"Up, Flire," Lodin ordered, and the Nadder complied.

"Cool," the other teen remarked behind Lodin, and he saw him grin out of the corner of his eye.

"I'm Lodin," Lodin introduced himself. "Lodin Stafnson."

"Tuffnut Thorston," the other viking responded. "This is so awesome."

Lodin grinned back. "Yeah, it is. Though, most people freak out first."

"What? Why would I freak out? This is AWESOME!" Tuffnut shouted and leaned sideways, looking dangerously close to slipping off Flire's back.

Lodin instinctively jerked a hand around and righted Tuffnut. "Don't do that. You can do that on your own dragon, but not on mine."

Tuffnut huffed. "Fine."

Lodin faced front again and hoped Tuffnut wouldn't turn out to be too much trouble. Or a traitor.

"Hey, a guy named Hiccup wouldn't happen to be one of your dragon riders, would he?" Tuffnut asked suddenly.

Lodin glanced curiously behind him at Tuffnut. "Yeah, Hiccup is The First. But how do you know that? Nobody knows our names or our faces."

"Wait, Hiccup's The First?" Tuffnut repeated. "Doesn't the First have a Night Fury or something?"

"Yeah, he does. But you still haven't told me how you know that."

"But I thought Hiccup had Monstrous Nightmare," Tuffnut persisted, ignoring the question.

Lodin sighed. "No, he doesn't. He mentioned something about flying on a Monstrous Nightmare from his home island but... wait, are you from Berk?"

"Yup," Tuffnut responded. "So Hiccup has Night Fury. Wow, I gotta ask how he did that."

"You grew up with Hiccup?" Lodin remarked, wonder filling his voice. "That must've have been great. Hiccup's really smart and talented, he must have been a great friend.

"Uhhhhh..." Tuffnut didn't seem so happy about the turn of conversation. "Sort of. So what's the being a dragon rider like?"

Lodin decided to let him change the subject and started explaining life on the dragon rider island (which no one could agree on a name for). "Well, we do a lot of things but mostly we train. Once you bond with a dragon Hiccup'll teach you the basics until you can join us on our exercise flights. We're training so that we'll be ready to take on the Red Death."

"What's the Red Death?" Tuffnut asked.

"It's the queen dragon," Lodin replied. "It lives in the nest and controls all the smaller dragons. It's a lazy, tyrannical beast. The Red Death controls their minds and makes them bring it food. That's why the dragons raid our villages, because they need to get enough food to the Red Death when she calls them back, otherwise she'll eat them."

"Oh, well why haven't you guys killed it already?" Tuffnut asked.

Lodin snorted. "If only it were that simple. That dragon is huge. The size of mountain. And its mind control is growing stronger everyday. Hiccup thinks pretty soon it could force dragons to attack us. But he doesn't want to go after it until we're as ready as we can be."

"Sounds exciting," Tuffnut remarked.

Lodin glanced incredulously back at Tuffnut, who was grinning insanely again. Facing front again, Lodin muttered under his breath, "At least one of us thinks so."

* * *

Hiccup grinned, his face flushed from his and Toothless's joyride. "C'mon, bud. Let's give it a go."

Toothless groaned underneath him, like he usually did when Hiccup suggested trying out his tricks.

"Oh, don't be like that!" Hiccup cried happily. "I got it last time!"

Toothless snorted.

Hiccup couldn't really blame the dragon. Maybe last time it had worked but the time before he'd missed and landed on Toothless's tail. The time before that he hadn't jumped high enough and had hit the rock arch. And the time before that... well you get the idea. Toothless had reason to worry.

"Alright, let's do this," Hiccup said, more to himself than to Toothless.

As they neared the arch Hiccup pulled his foot up from the pedal and leaped up. He sailed over the approaching arch and landed with a _thunk_ on Toothless's back. Quickly shoving his foot back into the pedal, Hiccup grabbed onto the edge of the saddle.

"Yes, it worked!"

Toothless expertly steadied his slightly wobbled glide and beat his wings three times, lifting them until they were level with their tall, mishapen island.

Hall and Lodin had been in a heated debate over what to name the island for several months now. Hightop, Dragonaria, Nest Too, Fort Dragon, Buddy Land (Hiccup vetoed that one), Thor's Rock, and even "Indecisive." But no one could agree. The island had a beach that lead to a network of caves underneath, but the top where they lived and plant life grew didn't touch the beach. You had to be a really skilled climber or flying on a dragon to get on it. Of course, that didn't protect it from catapults.

Hiccup shuddered, he'd rather not think about that.

"C'mon, bud," Hiccup said, patting Toothless on the shoulder. "Let's go home for a little while, we have the night shift and we can fly more then."

Toothless obliging angled toward the island's cluster of houses, constructed of stone to prevent accidental (or purposeful) burnings. Below them he saw Lodin had already come home, and his Nadder Flire was trotting cheerfully behind him. Lodin seemed to be talking to someone else. Was it Torfi? No, Torfi was with Arni at the northern sea stacks.

Hiccup frowned. A new addition? It had to be. He should probably greet them.

"Land over there, Toothless," Hiccup requested. "Let's say hello."

They dropped down silently behind the two vikings, and Flire squawked a greeting at them.

"Hey, Lodin, who's this?" Hiccup asked.

Lodin turned, and so did the other person, but before Lodin could say anything, Hiccup burst out:

"Tuffnut?!"

"Hey, Hiccup," Tuffnut said, grinning like they were old pals.

"What are you doing here?" Hiccup demanded, and immediately looked around for someone he must have missed. "Where's Ruffnut?"

Tuffnut huffed. "We're not the same person! We _do_ have different lives and stuff."

Hiccup raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

Tuffnut maintained his defensive composure for all of five second before he caved under Hiccup's eyebrow look (he learned it from Toothless). "Okay, so Ruffnut and I were fed up with being the same, and having all the same stuff, and all the same thoughts, so we decided to try to be different and then I heard Trader Johan talking about dragon riders and how anyone could join and I thought you were probably one of them so I stowed away and came to be a dragon rider so I could be different from Ruffnut!"

Hiccup's other eyebrow raised too. "You turned traitor to Berk just so you could be different from your twin?"

"Oh good, you got it," Tuffnut said, relieved. "_I_ wasn't even sure what I was saying."

"No wonder," Hiccup responded. A beat. "Did you even breathe?"

"Nope."

Hiccup shook his head in wonderment. "Well, there's no going back on it now. Welcome to the island of dragon riders, Tuffnut."

"What kind of name is that?" Tuffnut questioned immediately.

"The only one he doesn't hate," Lodin said with a pout. "I still like Hightop."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "When you come up with one that doesn't sound ridiculous, I'll accept it."

"Which'll be _never_," Lodin groaned.

"Don't you have patrol, Lodin?" Hiccup said pointedly.

Lodin scowled. "Yeah, yeah, I'm going. I know how you all really feel about me. C'mon Flire, let's go where we're wanted."

Lodin dramatically threw himself into Flire's saddle and with one last jokingly wounded glance at Hiccup, the two took off for their patrol.

After a moment Tuffnut exclaimed, "This is gonna be _awesome!_"

Hiccup just thought he had the strangest group of dragon-sympathizers possible. Well, at least he had a group.

"Did Lodin already give you a tour?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah, this is pretty cool, Hiccup," Tuffnut said. "We should've listened to you more on Berk!"

It was a passing comment, and most wouldn't have made anything of it, but that last sentence warmed Hiccup's heart a little. He hadn't need any of Berk's approval since he met Toothless, but it was still a sore spot. It was undeniably pleasant to have someone finally recognize his talents, and not his talent at destroying things (which honestly wasn't _that_ great).

"Yeah, it is," Hiccup agreed. "You can stay in the guest house until you and Torfi build another house for you, but we'll hold off on that until we get you a dragon."

"How exactly does that work?" Tuffnut asked as Hiccup lead the way to the guest house.

"We'll go to the nest, or there's a cluster of islands pretty thick with dragons, and we'll just introduce you to any dragon you like the look of."

"Awesome!"

Hiccup smiled, hoping it wouldn't be so bad to have someone from Berk here. Specifically Tuffnut. Maybe he should try to pair him with a tame, non-destructive dragon for the safety of the Barbaric Archipelago. Then again, blowing stuff up could become real handy in the near future.

* * *

**Two questions: 1) Do you guys have any other ideas for the name of the island? Because I'm drawing a blank. 2) Any say on that dragon Tuffnut should have? He can't exactly fly a Zippleback by himself, so it'll have to be something else. I was thinking Torch the Typhoomerang or a nightmare. Any other ideas?**

**Thank you people who reviewed! I love you lots! Have a cookie (::) (::) (::)**

**Anyone else want a cookie? Review! :)**


	3. Picking and Choosing No! We're Done!

**Disclaimer: Here be fanfiction... where people don't own the characters they write.**

**Chapter 3**

**Picking and Choosing... No! We're Done!**

"Hightop!"

"Dragon Point!"

"Draconem Insula!"

"Dracul!"

"Providence!"

"Providence?"

"Yes, Providence. What's wrong with that?"

Hiccup watched with an amused smile as Lodin crossed his arms defensively across his chest and glared at Hall. Tonight was one of those days when they decided to all eat at the largest table in their mess hall (minus Arni, who was on patrol duty) for dinner. And now the two Viking dragon riders were going at it again over the name of their island.

"What does 'providence' have to do with dragons?" Hall asked derisively.

"Dragon are our 'providence'," Lodin responded seriously.

"Are you sure you know what that word means?" Hall shot back.

Hiccup glanced at Tuffnut, who had shouted out a couple of suggestions so far and seemed to be getting into the debate. Hiccup wished he wouldn't. This island already had two people arguing over the name, it didn't really need another. To Hiccup's right a little way down the table sat a young girl that had come back with Drott, Hall, and Aesa about an hour ago from Bardikk. She said she was twelve and her name was Hanna. Two new dragon riders in one day. Who would've guessed?

"Well, how about Rider Island?" Torfi suggested. "Keep it nice and simple."

Tofa, who was his sister, elbowed Torfi in the side. "That's so un-exciting!"

"What about..." Tuffnut lifted his hands into the air and paused dramatically before delivering his idea. "Fort Fury!"

"That's a stupid idea," Hall sniffed.

Aesa, who sat next to him, smacked Hall harshly on the arm. "Hall! Be nice."

Hall looked suitably chastised, as only Aesa could make him look.

"Wait, wait!" Tuffnut interrupted again. "How about Fire Rock?"

"No," Lodin said immediately. "Not all dragons breathe fire."

"We could call it something in Old Norse," Hanna piped up. "Like Dreki Hermaðr. It means dragon warrior."

"That's not bad," Tofa said supportively. "Unlike some of the other suggestions around here." Here she glared at Torfi, Lodin, and Hall each.

Lodin and Hall looked suitably affronted.

"How about Dragonheim?" said Drott, speaking up for the first time.

Hiccup actually liked that one. But he didn't say anything yet and let the conversation continue around him, the vikings forming friendships over the naming of the island. He leaned back in the chair and absently listened to all the ideas, patting Toothless on the top of his head. The dragon was curled around his chair, which he could only do since Hiccup was sitting at the head of the table.

"Cloud Walker Island?"

"How about Wind Walker?"

"What about combining Dragonheim and Dreki Hermaðr?"

"You mean like Drekiheim?"

"Oooh, how about Dracultop?"

"Lodin, are you still stuck on the whole 'top' thing?"

"What? We're on top of a tall rock island. Ooh, ooh, ooh. Rocktop!"

"NO!"

The stong voice that belonged to Hanna cut in with, "What do you guys think of The Wingback Isles?"

Hiccup immediately perked up, and so did Toothless. They both like the sound of that.

"Wingback _Isles_?" Hall echoed. "In case you haven't noticed, we're on _one_ island."

"Then what are those?" Hanna asked, pointing to the two thin, linear islands that they could see off the Northern side of the island.

"We don't use those," Lodin told her.

"We could," Tofa pointed out.

"Oh!" Aesa sat up straighter, a smile lighting her face. " If this island was the body, those two kind of look like the wings."

"Of a giant fly," Torfi said, grimacing.

"_Or_ a dragon," Aesa countered, rolling her eyes.

"I like Wingback," Hiccup spoke up.

Everyone looked at him like he was nuts.

"What? I can't have a positive opinion?" Hiccup asked defensively.

"No," Drott said bluntly, taking a bite of his fish.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Well, I have one. Let's go with Wingback Isles and end the discussion there."

Hall and Lodin pouted while Hanna looked exceptionally pleased with herself.

"You sure you don't want to pick something more explosive?" Tuffnut asked.

"No more picking," Hiccup said firmly.

Hall, still scowling, opened his mouth to protest, but Hiccup didn't let him.

"So! Torfi, Tofa, you guys should take Hanna to see if she can find a dragon she likes tomorrow."

"Really?!" Hanna squeaked, a huge grin on her face.

Hiccup smiled at the young girl's excitement. "Really. We need to get you in the air as soon as possible."

"Uh, me too," Tuffnut added, waving a hand in the air.

Hiccup smiled again, inwardly marveling how different Tuffnut acted away from Berk and the rest of the traditional Vikings. "Yeah, you too, Tuffnut. I'll take you myself. I want to check the area again."

"Yes!" Tuffnut grinned that insane, patented Thorston twins grin and pumped a fist in the air. "When do we leave?"

"Sometime after my patrol," Hiccup said.

"Why do you have patrols?" Hanna asked. "I thought no one knows where you are."

"Most don't," Hiccup replied. "But a few months ago we were attacked by Dagur the Deranged, and we've been extra careful since then."

"Oh," was all Hanna said.

The rest of dinner went in companionable silence and meaningless conversation. Hiccup finished quickly and headed off with Toothless to take patrol duty from Arni.

* * *

Hiccup never took any potential dragon riders to the nest to find a dragon. It was too dangerous, at least until they killed Red Death. So two days after Tuffnut's arrival Hiccup handed over the training to Aesa and Hall for the day, woke up Tuffnut bright and early, and they flew to some of the more populated but less dangerous dragon islands.

The whole flight Tuffnut begged him to do some aerial stunts but Hiccup declined. But then Tuffnut threatened to tickle him and Hiccup caved. It wasn't that Hiccup was ticklish or anything. Oh no! He just didn't want the distraction of having Tuffnut try. That was it. That was all! Why are you so suspicious!?

"Alright, alright. Toothless, have a little fun," Hiccup told him.

Toothless growled happily and obliged. Tuffnut was treated to several loop-the-loops and corkscrew dives. Hiccup was extremely grateful when they landed on one of the islands near the nest (but far enough away to be safe). He thought his eardrums were going to be permanently damaged.

Tuffnut hopped off Toothless with an exhilarated whoop, and Hiccup thought that Tuffnut would need fast dragon... Or maybe they should get him a slow one.

"Ooh, a Gronkle! Nono, too slow. Nadder! Eh, no."

Hiccup couldn't help but smile as Tuffnut ran back and forth, left and right, forward and backward. The dragons here were pretty used to human visits, and since they had no visible weapons the dragons were relatively at ease. The just went about their business as Tuffnut ran up to them and then away to another.

Then Hiccup glanced at Toothless and laughed out loud. The night fury was following Tuffnut's dashing with wide eyes. He growled curiously, like he was saying, _We're not really keeping this maniac are we? He's not sane!_

Still chuckling, Hiccup said, "Yes, Toothless, we're keeping him. We need all the help we can get."

Toothless snorted, _And this is helpful?_

Biting his lip to keep from laughing again, Hiccup turned back to see Tuffnut on his hands and knees with his face rather close to a fallen log overgrown with plants. "What are you doing?"

"Hey, Hiccup!" Tuffnut yelled. "I've never seen this type of dragon before!"

Curiosity peaked, Hiccup jogged over and knelt next to Tuffnut. A dragon that was not much bigger than a Terrible Terror was peering inquisitively at them.

"Neither have I," Hiccup said, surprised. A new dragon. Who would've thought? He really shouldn't be surprised, though. They really didn't know much about dragons. Hiccup had been composing his own book of dragons for a year now and he was finding new things all the time. "We should take it back and study it."

"It's pretty cool," Tuffnut said, staring wonderingly at the dragon. "But still too small to ride."

Then Tuffnut was on his feet again, looking at all the other dragons, but not without a backward glance at the strange dragon.

* * *

Ruffnut wasn't lonely, or frustrated, or even regretting a word she'd said in the past week. Nope, not one bit. She was free! No longer was Ruffnut Thorston held down by a twin. She could do whatever she wanted. She was her own person, not part of one. Ruffnut didn't even care that she had no idea where her twin was.

Truth be told, no one had seen grin nor dreadlock of Tuffnut since Trader Johan had left Berk six days ago. Ruffnut guessed he was out camping in the woods and fending for himself. And no, she wasn't the least bit peeved that she hadn't thought of that first. In fact, she was pleased. It meant they were really being different now!

Ruffnut rolled her spear glumly between her hands. But she had no one to practice with. Or to pummel. Or to argue with. Or to –

"Ruffnut!"

Looking up, the Viking girl saw Astrid running up to her.

"I've been looking for you everywhere!" Astrid said, not even breathless from her sprint.

Ruffnut only grunted in response.

"Hey, is something wrong?" Astrid asked with concern.

Any passerby would be surprised that rough and tough (no pun intended) Astrid Hofferson was displaying the so-called 'weak' emotions, but Astrid and Ruffnut had long since made a pact that when it was just the two of them they could be relaxed teenage girls. Not shieldmaidens and dragon fighters, just girls.

"Are you missing Tuffnut?" Astrid asked perceptibly.

"No," Ruffnut snapped.

Astrid arched a disbelieving eyebrow, but she let it go. "Wanna spar? Snotlout's driving me nuts."

"Sure," Ruffnut agreed.

As the walked to the arena, Ruffnut wondered where Tuffnut was and what he was doing. Probably shivering to death because he forgot how to start a fire, or starving because he didn't have any food. The idiot.

* * *

**Thank you to all who suggested names for the island, I considered them all and used them all :) And thank you RollingUpHigh for that winning suggestion.**

**As to the issue of Tuffnut's dragon, I carefully considered each suggestion and Torch seemed the winner of that title. But I felt like Torch was only so easy for Tuffnut to train because they had already met him and played with him. So do you guys think I should wait for Torch to grow up, with some intermediate dragon, or should I, and this is random, give him the Skrill. I decided that Hiccup and Tuffnut are about to get their first adventure together starting with the skrill, which they'll either free or keep. Thoughts, guys? I kinda want Tuff to have an awesome dragon.**

**By the way... I GET TO SEE A PRE-SHOWING OF HTTYD2 TOMORROW NIGHT! SO EXCITED!**


	4. Adventuring with the Nuts

**Disclaimer: Idon'townhowtotrainyourdragon... phew, that's over.**

**Chapter 4**

**Adventuring with the Nuts**

By the time the sun was sliding behind the horizon Tuffnut's dreadlocks had been incinerated to a half their original length by a Nadder, his hands had been singed by a Nightmare, and he had almost had his hand bitten off by a Gronkle. When they had seen a Hideous Zibbleback Tuffnut had taken one looked and spun in the other direction. He wasn't even close to settling on a dragon.

After the Zippleback incident Hiccup considered that he wasn't quite as 'over' Ruffnut, so to speak, as he claimed to be. He probably missed his sister a lot by now. Really, Hiccup shouldn't be that surprised. Tuffnut and Ruffnut hadn't been separated since... well ever.

"So, Tuffnut..." Hiccup began tentatively.

"What?" Tufnut asked, staring contemplatively at Nightmare while it casually set itself on fire.

"Well... are you sure about this?" Hiccup asked, wondering exactly how to phrase his question. "You and Ruffnut – "

"I don't need her," Tuffnut scoffed, turning away from the Nightmare a trudging away, presumably to look at other dragons.

"It's just, you guys have never really done anything separately... er, _ever,_" Hiccup said, jogging a bit to catch up with Tuffnut. "And, if you wanted to, you could go back. "

Hiccup didn't really want Tuffnut to go back. He needed every rider he could get and he had a feeling that Tuffnut was going to be the only Viking on the island who didn't look at Hiccup with a just little bit of distance between them. He was, in a sense, their chief, and generally you don't make close friends out of your chief. Of course, he had Toothless and Hiccup wouldn't ask for anything more, but the amount of distance was getting to Hiccup just a little. But still, Hiccup didn't want Tuffnut to be miserable.

Hiccup decided to continue since Tuffnut hadn't responded yet. "We keep our identities under wraps – "

"Nah, everybody saw my face on Bardikk," Tuffnut interupted agian. "You're stuck with me."

Hiccup smiled at that but before he could say anything else Toothless bounded up next to him and nudged his shoulder. Then he perked up and tilted his ear sensors to their left. _Listen._

Both Vikings stopped and listened very carefully. The forest was silent. A glance behind him revealed that the Nightmare Tuffnut had been looking at before was gone.

Toothless crept slowly to their left, and toward the closest beach if Hiccup remembered correctly.

"What is it?" Tuffnut whispered.

"I don't know," Hiccup replied. "But Toothless hears something, so I'm gonna trust his hearing."

"Good idea," Tuffnut agreed.

The two of them tiptoed after Toothless scanning their surrounding for whatever was upsetting the Night Fury.

" – not on any of these islands!"

They froze.

"We don't know that!" a familiar voice shouted. "We haven't looked at all of them. Besides, we might find Hiccup and his little band of dragon huggers while we're out here. They probably come here all the time."

"Do you know this guy?" Tuffnut questioned quietly.

Hiccup's gut clenched and he nodded. "Dagur the Deranged. He killed his father to be chief of the Berserkers a few months ago and attacked us soon after."

"Fantastic," Tuffnut muttered.

Hiccup hoped he was kidding.

"But Dagur!" another Berserker protested loudly. "If the Skrill was out here it wouldn't people have heard?"

The Skrill? Why would Dagur be looking for the Skrill? Hiccup wondered, his fists clenching.

"Not if it's hiding!" Dagur snapped.

The voice fell back into a normal level that they couldn't hear from their distance.

"Dagur's looking for a Skrill?" Hiccup murmured, more to himself than to Tuffnut and Toothless.

"Isn't it, like, their symbol or something?" Tuffnut asked.

Hiccup looked over at Tuffnut, eyebrows raised. "How do you know that?" He hadn't even remembered that.

Tuffnut only shrugged.

A bout of sudden boldness overtook Hiccup and he said, "Not quite as stupid as you pretend to be, huh?"

Now it was Tuffnut's turn to be surprised. But he quickly covered it up by quipping, "I think I accidentally payed attention once."

Hiccup laughed quietly, and tried ineffectually to pull the grin off his face. Toothless snorted and nudged them Hiccup's head as if to say, _enough bonding, we have a problem._

"Right, sorry, bud," Hiccup whispered and crept slowly forward. Just visible through the trees stretched a thin white-gold strip that was the beach. As he got closer he kept close to the trees, always keeping his body partially hidden in case Dagur came into sight. He didn't look back at Tuffnut and Toothless but from the soft sounds behind him he assumed (hoped) they were being equally as stealthy. Finally Hiccup spotted the Berserker's ships, anchored a little way off shore, and two rowboats on the beach.

Pressing himself behind one of the trees, Hiccup listened intently for any other signs of conversation.

"Dagur!" a newcomer called a moment later. At least, Hiccup assumed he was a newcomer based on the sound of running and the breathlessness of his voice.

"What is it?" Dagur growled.

"They've found it!" the newcomer gasped. "Nit's ship just sent word! They've found the Skrill! They've already started to cut it out of the ice."

"HAH!" Dagur shouted, glee coated his voice along with his customary deranged edge. "FINALLY! Let's go, men! The Skrill will be ours and we will unleash its fury on Hiccup and his little band of dragon riders!"

The Berserkers cheered.

Hiccup, Toothless, and Tuffnut didn't say anything. They just listened to the sound of the Berserkers packing up and boarding their ships. When it was at last silent Hiccup ran a hand through his hair and sighed heavily. What was the saying? 'No rest for the weary,' right? Couldn't things calm down, just a little, for a while?

Apparently not.

"Sooo..." Tuffnut began slowly. "That's really bad... right?"

Hiccup sighed again, Toothless nudged him in the arm. Standing up straighter, Hiccup said, "Yeah, that's really bad. I don't know if Dagur can really harness the power of the Skrill, but I'd rather not find out."

"So we're going back?" Tuffnut asked.

Glancing over his shoulder at the retreating ships, Hiccup decided. "No, we're not. We don't have time. Berserker ships aren't the fastest but they can still put on some speed. They'll be long gone by the time we could return with the rest of the gang and we don't know where they're going."

"Wait, so we're going to stop them ourselves?" Tuffnut asked.

Toothless gave Hiccup a disapproving look, like he knew what his rider was thinking and didn't like it one bit. Hiccup couldn't blame him. He didn't like it either.

"Yeah, we are," Hiccup said. He hated to go with only two of them, but the risk of losing Dagur was too great.

"So, we're going to take on an entire Berserker fleet by ourselves?" Tuffnut continued.

Hiccup winced. "When you say it like that..."

"No," Tuffnut said, a manic Thorston grin spreading across his face. "It sounds awesome! You've gotten braver, Hiccup."

"Or dumber," Hiccup said with a third sigh. "Come on. I'm putting you on the first dragon we see. We can worry about whether you work well together later. Right now we're running out of time."

Hiccup was not thrilled when that dragon was a Monstrous nightmare. Toothless turned to Hiccup and gave him a look like, _how about the second dragon?_

"We're running out of time," Hiccup repeated firmly, even as he thought that this was going to turn out badly.

* * *

The woods were empty.

The birds sang, rodents scurried along, and the insects buzzed about, but the woods were still empty.

Astrid glanced at Ruffnut and her heart grew heavy for her friend. Ruffnut's lips were pressed into a thin line and she had a white-knuckled grip on her spear as the two trudged through the forest back toward the village. No sign of Tuffnut. People were starting to get worried. It was like Tuffnut had vanished into the wind. Nothing remained.

Astrid considered telling Ruffnut that they would find him for sure, but she felt it was foolish to make such an empty promise. Instead she said, "He probably isn't in the woods. Where else do you think he could've gone?"

Ruffnut shrugged wordlessly, the somber expression fixed on her face. Astrid thought it looked out of place.

"Well, he did seem to disappear about the time Trader Johan left," Astrid suggested. "Maybe he left with him?"

Ruffnut seemed to think about for a moment before saying, "I didn't think of that."

Astrid knew what that meant. Not 'why didn't I think of that', but 'why would he think of that if I didn't'. Astrid felt sorry for her all over again. "It was probably something that Trader Johan said in the news that made him think of it. You know, when you weren't there."

Ruffnut nodded. "Yeah, maybe that's it."

Astrid sighed heavily. "Look, Ruffnut, there's not much more looking we can do. We can send word to Trader Johan but otherwise there isn't much else we can do."

"You're right," Ruffnut agreed glumly.

Astrid wished Tuffnut were there. Not only would Ruffnut feel better, but Astrid could clock him on the head for making her act so out of character. Ruffnut Thorston was supposed to be a lively girl who liked to blow things up. Not this person who walked around with hunched shoulders (or at least, more hunched then her natural posture) and a smileless face.

Astrid stepped over a fallen tree and asked, "Do you think he would've left a note if he left with Trader Johan?"

Ruffnut shook her head. "Nope. Woulda been too excited to think about leaving a note for anyone."

This depressed state was really starting to grate on Astrid's nerves. "C'mon Ruff, he's probably fine."

"Don't you understand?" Ruffnut exclaimed. "I have no one to blow stuff up with now! Or play pranks with! Or punch for no reason! Or... or... or..."

"Well I don't know about the punching for no reason part but – " Astrid began only to be cut off by Ruffnut saying:

"Really? You'd be my pranking partner?" Ruffnut burst out, grinning the Thorston grin that had been missing for the last few days.

"As long as we don't do anything damaging to the village..." Astrid said, ready to smack herself upside her own head. What was she getting herself into?

"Hah! Nothing that can't be fixed!" Ruffnut grabbed Astrid's hand, the one that wasn't holding her axe, and dragged her the remaining distance to the village.

* * *

By the time the sun had passed its peak and begun its downward march Hiccup was seriously regretting his decision to use the first dragon they saw.

The Nightmare had blackened Tuffnut's clothes (the dragon had flamed up and Tuffnut had done the smartest thing and jumped off the dragon, dousing the flames in the ocean), burned off most of his hair (leaving the viking with a rather unfortunate haircut), and given him plenty of bruises (that came from a lot of jostling). The two had been growling and yelling at each other ever since the Nightmare had come out of the calm Hiccup had put it in. They were so rowdy Hiccup wondered why they were even trying to be stealthy.

All in all, they probably could not have picked a worse dragon to put Tuffnut on.

Tuffnut dubbed the Nightmare Helfire, which neither Hiccup nor Toothless saw fit to argue with, and the two managed (after many hours) to fly in a very tense but mostly quiet silence (Helfire was still growling under his breath). Hiccup absently wondered if he should have gone solo... and if he could still go solo?

Unfortunately, no. He couldn't leave Tuffnut alone, he wouldn't be able to get back home because he didn't know the way and mostly because Hiccup just didn't trust Helfire. Hiccup sighed, and Toothless snorted sympathetically.

"I think it's getting colder," Hiccup commented, wishing he'd worn his full body leather armor or at least brought his vest. He hadn't technically needed the armor for this trip (he did now, but he hadn't known that) so he had opted to leave it at home.

Tuffnut snorted. "It's not getting any colder over here if you need heat."

Hiccup glanced over to see Tuffnut holding tight to Helfire's horns and smoke curling out of the dragon's nostrils. "Don't worry too much, this is just temporary, Tuffnut. We're definitely getting you a new dragon."

"Good," Tuffnut said. "Because I'm pretty sure this thing spawned straight from Hel."

Helfire growled and released a spurt of flame into the open air. Hiccup imagined he was saying, _likewise, demon child._

"How far do you think they're going?" Tuffnut asked.

Hiccup shrugged. "No idea. But hopefully distance won't be too much of a problem. The dragons can fly for a long time as long as it doesn't start stretching to a week. I am a little worried about our supplies though. We didn't come prepared for this journey."

"Maybe there'll be an island or two on the way," Tuffnut suggested.

"Yeah, maybe," Hiccup agreed. They fell into silence and Hiccup quickly grew bored. It was kind of nice for a little while, Tuffnut and Helfire were tolerating each other and the Berserker ships ahead didn't notice them. They were hanging back far enough that they should look like a pair of large birds... hopefully.

But eventually Hiccup got tired of thinking about training drills and exercises and decided to strike up a conversation. "So, how are things back on Berk?"

"Huh?" Tuffnut looked over distractedly and Hiccup wondered what kind of destruction he'd been plotting in his head to keep from being bored himself. "Oh, normal. You know, dragon attacks, Astrid punching Snotlout, Mildew complaining, regular stuff."

"Oh?" Hiccup asked, "Nothing's changed a little since I left?"

Tuffnut seemed to understand what he was asking and said, "Well, Gobber hasn't taken on a new apprentice and some people were complaining about him being slower fixing weapons during raids. And people don't have anyone to blame when a raid goes wrong."

Hiccup smiled wryly at that one. "It's good to know I'm missed for something I guess. Is Gobber considering anyone?"

"Cheif doesn't really want any of the warriors to give up their place to learn Blacksmith stuff. He sa – HELFIRE DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!" Tuffnut yelled the last bit as Helfire began to dip as inconspicuously as he could downward.

The dragon groaned and righted himself at Toothless's growled command. He puffed a thick plume of smoke to show his disapproval.

"Anyway," Tuffnut continued, righting his helmet which had tipped forward a little, revealing his unburnt dreadlock-remains. "I think he said something about Fishlegs since he isn't realy talented in the dragon fighting department."

"Yeah, he really wasn't," Hiccup said, fondly remembering the huge teen and his stuttering dragon statistics.

The flew for a little while more before Hiccup mused that, "Aesa can probably give you haircut when we get back."

"NO!" Tuffnut objected immediately.

Hiccup did his best to hold in a snicker and said, "It looks _really_ bad, Tuffnut."

"I'm going to grow it back!" Tuffnut proclaimed, a hand protectively covering the blackened ends.

"Are you sure?" Hiccup asked. "Because you never cut your hair once in your whole life and it took that long to grow it to the length it was before."

"I don't wanna look all cute like you," Tuffnut said with his face screwed up in mild disgust. "I wanna kill stuff."

Hiccup tried to decide if he should be affronted by the 'cute' comment or take it as a compliment. He decided to ignore it and instead just said, "You can look cute and still kill stuff. Just look at Toothless!"

Toothless growled defensively at that, and Hiccup knew he was glaring at him.

"Besides," Hiccup continued, "it'll make things easier when we make you a helmet with a visor for your identity's sake. Dreadlocks would make that look really strange."

"I still don't wanna look cute," Tuffnut muttered.

Hiccup smiled and couldn't resist a little good-natured jab. "With a face like yours you don't have to worry about looking cute."

Helfire started quaking like he thought Hiccup had just said the funniest thing in the world, and Tuffnut shouted indignantly, "HEY!"

Hiccup just grinned. This was going to be fun. Assuming, of course, that they survived until their next misadventure.

* * *

Astrid dropped face down onto her bed and groaned into her pillow. Why, oh why, had she agreed to be Ruffnut's partner in crime? Even as she bemoaned the attacks to her moral integrity, Astrid had to smile. The other girl had seemed more like herself than she had since she and Tuffnut had started the most serious fight they'd had in a long time. Astrid just hoped no one would suspect her for painting Mildew's house a frankly alarming shade of yellow and dying the sheep's wool grass-green (Ruffnut claimed they were doing a service for that one, saying the sheep would be camouflaged better. Astrid thought the dragons probably had such a keen sense of smell that it wouldn't matter, but she didn't say that).

Dragging herself to a sitting position, Astrid tugged off her left boot and thought about the dragons. She hadn't killed one in a raid despite the fact that she had been made a full-fledged warrior a year ago. Astrid pulled off her other boot. Oh she defended herself alright, but it had never come to killing. She had instead kept up the job of fire prevention.

Astrid stood up pulled off her spiked skirt and should guards. Chief Stoick hadn't been too happy about that, he thought they needed every warrior they could get. But Astrid had argued that someone needed to keep the fires from spreading or they'd have to start living in the caves. She also promised to help where she could. Plopping back down on the bed, Astrid heaved a huge sigh.

It was just so _hard_ now. After Hiccup had to go and make things so complicated. That one beautiful flight had opened Astrid's eyes to _so many_ new and wonderful things—like how dragons were kind. He showed her that the sky was a magical place, and that the dragons were being forced into servitude, not stealing because it was fun. Not to mention revealing that he wasn't a complete idiot. Astrid tugged off her headband and lay down on her back.

Why did he have to fly off right after he'd showed her that new world? It was so frustrating. Now her nights were filled with dreams of flying and days of peace. Astrid sorely wished he were here; that his father hadn't driven him off with harsh words and a stubborn hold on the past. Hiccup hadn't technically been banished. Stoick had never made the proclamation, not even after Hiccup had flown off on the Nightmare. But it was pretty well understood by everyone on Berk, and probably by Hiccup too, that he was no longer welcome on Berk.

Astrid just hoped he was alive, well, and planning. She had kept his secrets about everything. About Toothless, and subsequently how he was The First. She absently unbraided her hair and wondered if Stoick had connected the dots, or if he thought Hiccup had kept the Monstrous Nightmare and just worked with The First.

She had also kept quiet about the Queen dragon in the Nest, partially because she didn't want anyone to suspect her of being sympathetic and partially because it wouldn't deter the Vikings at all. In fact, some may become more bold, thinking they knew exactly what they were up against. Some Vikings were stupid like that. Which is why Astrid hoped Hiccup was planning. After the flight and the revelation of Hiccup's smarts (which in hindsight Astrid could have recognized if she'd really looked) Astrid's respect for him had skyrocketed to an all time high, which wasn't saying much in itself. But now, somehow, Astrid had complete trust in him, more than any other Viking.

She knew he wouldn't sit idly by while the queen controlled the other dragons.

And Astrid also knew that he was smart enough and brave enough, with just a enough viking stupidity and stubbornness, to carry out whatever idiotically brilliant plan his mind spawned.

Astrid pulled the blanket over her shoulders and smiled. One day soon they would be free.

Astrid just knew it.

* * *

**So, I'm back, guys. That was a long one. Well, hopefully more action in the next chapter. And I've decided to give Tuff the skrill for now, because I think I can have fun with it and that's the whole point of writing fanfiction (at least for me). If it turns out horribly I can always fall back on Torch. But thank you all for your suggestions! I did think about them all.**

**And don't worry guys, Torch will get used regardless of whether Tuffnut rides him or not. Thanks for reading! Leave a review?**


	5. Dangerous Dragons and Something Serious

**Disclaimer: Disclaming.**

**Chapter 5**

**Tuff Works with Dangerous Dragons and Ruff Discovers Something Serious**

"Hey, Astrid!"

Astrid jerked in surprise and spun around with her axe at the ready in her hands. It was only Ruffnut. Relaxing her stance, Astrid straightened and lowered her axe.

Ruffnut laughed, and strolled up beside her. "I wasn't gonna attack you."

Astrid sighed. "You can never be too careful."

Ruffnut snorted. "Yes, yes you can. You can _definitely _be too careful. Speaking of..."

"Oh, here we go," Astrid muttered, but without any sting to it. Ever since Tuffnut had up and disappeared, Astrid had become his substitute. If Ruffnut needed a partner for anything (theft, arson, pranks, etc.), she came to Astrid. Truly, Astrid didn't mind. She enjoyed spending time with Ruffnut and was glad they were such close friends. But sometimes, she just needed a break from the _insanity_.

But Ruffnut just grinned and continued on. "So, Chief is calling a meeting."

"So?" Astrid asked. "My bed is calling my name."

"So," Ruffnut barreled on, though she graced Astrid's comment with a smirk. "We should go."

"I don't think, technically, we are supposed to be included in this meeting, are we?" Astrid said, starting to walk to her house.

"Exactly!" Ruffnut exclaimed, matching her stride, "Tuff and I used to crash meetings all the time."

"Literally crash, or just listen in?" Astrid questioned.

"We only literally crashed a few, and only if they were especially boring," Ruffnut told her. "But mostly we just sneak in and listen to say that we did and leave. Usually they talk about the boring stuff that comes before the action stuff."

"You mean the planning?" Astrid asked, propping up an eyebrow.

"Yeah that," Ruff said, absently flapping her hand. "Anyway, we should do it! It'll be fun!"

Astrid sighed. "Fine, but let me put away my axe."

* * *

Sleeping on dragons was a strange experience. At least, it was for Tuffnut who had never slept on a dragon before nor a pleasant dragon to sleep on. It was easy for Hiccup. He just laid back on Toothless and dozed enough to get rest but remained aware enough to flick the tailfin open or closed if Toothless needed him. He was literally flying in his sleep, which Tuffnut had found quite hilarious. He had _not_ found it hilarious when he could only half sleep on Helfire.

Tuffnut made both Hiccup and Toothless promise not to breathe a word of how _exactly_ those few nights tailing the Berserkers went. But at last – _finally_ – they stopped at a huge glacier. Thankfully the time of day was dusk so the dragons were able to sneak up close. Not too close, but on top of the same floating glacier that the Berserkers seemed so concerned with.

The two humans ordered the dragons to stay back while they crawled forward on their bellies to the edge of the glacier. When they finally reached it Hiccup leaned slightly over the side to get a clear view of the sight below in the waning light.

"We're getting close, Chief Dagur," one Berkserker said, holding an ice pick in his hands.

"Well, hurry up," Dagur ordered impatiently.

"Yes, sir," the Berserker replied immediately. "Do you want us to cut it all the way out?"

"Of course," Dagur replied. "Why would we leave it in there? It's might be dead, but if we're lucky the proper restraining tools are available. Now _go!_ If you people don't finish this quick you will be the first I feed to that dragon!"

The Berserker squeaked and rushed off to start hacking away at the ice with a few other Berserkers.

"We have to stop him," Hiccup murmured.

"Wait, I thought we were all for people having dragons and making peace and stuff," Tuffnut whispered back.

Hiccup shook his head. "Not with Dagur. He'll try to use the Skrill against us and I don't think it'll be a pleasant experience for the Skrill either. We have to rescue it and get outta here."

"Okay, sounds fun," Tuffnut agreed readily. "Do you have a plan or are we just gonna bust in there and start blowing stuff up?"

Hiccup scooted away from the edge and sat up. "Good question, Tuff."

Frowning, Hiccup pressed his lips into a thin line and thought. The Berserkers outnumbered the four of them a hundred to one at least, but they did have two powerful dragons. They would need to defend a small area to control the flow of Berserkers, preferably the place below them with the Skrill. They could probably do it and hold their own for a little while. Only...

"I'm just not sure what to do about the Skrill," Hiccup admitted. "It's a very powerful dragon, if the books are anything to go by. It won't be easy to train, or catch in order to train. I'm not even sure it _can_ be trained. Or even remotely tamed. Dagur's taking a big risk here."

"Maybe we can release the Skrill and just let it go?" Tuffnut thought about it for a moment before his whole face lit up. "Oooh! Could we sink the entire glacier!?"

Before Hiccup could formulate the proper response to that, he heard the twang of an arrow and one pierced the ice with a _crunch_ dangerously close to Hiccup's hand.

Hiccup jumped and gasped, jerking his hand close to him even though the arrow had already landed.

"COME ON, HICCUP!" Dagur shouted. "I KNOW IT'S YOU UP THERE!"

"Looks like we're just going to have to wing it," Hiccup said, a little apprehensive, but he knew everything always worked out. "Toothless!"

Both dragons bounded over and Hiccup wasted no time in mounting Toothless. Tuffnut followed a bit more slowly on Helfire.

"Stay behind me," Hiccup ordered Tuffnut and then gripped the saddle handle as Toothless leaped off the glacier and glided expertly down. He landed between Dagur and the Skrill.

"Ah, Hiccup," Dagur greeted with a malicious grin. "I'd hoped you would show up, we have a bit of unfinished business."

"I don't know about that, Dagur," Hiccup said, staying firmly seated on Toothless. "My team and I defeated you and your armada, that sounds pretty finished to me."

Dagur scowled deeply, obviously hating to be reminded of that defeat. Reaching up he unsheathed the sword from his back and growled, "You got lucky. But you won't this time."

Hiccup made a show of ignoring Dagur's sword and looking behind him. "But I don't see you're armada, Dagur," Hiccup observed with fake innocence. "Are you sure you can make me that sort of promise?"

Dagur scowled even more than before. "And looks like you only have one of your little dragon riders, seems we're both down."

Well, it was kind of hard to argue with that. But Hiccup plowed forward. "Alright, have it your way, Dagur. Just know we can end this peacefully and quit this useless fighting."

Dagur glanced behind Hiccup, probably at the Skrill but Hiccup didn't dare turn his back on Dagur. "You think I'll just let you take the Skrill?" Dagur laughed insanely and twirled his sword in his hand.

With a bit more bravado than he felt Hiccup said, "I don't see how you can stop me."'

Angrily raising his sword, Dagur cried, "ATTAAAAAAAACCCKKK!"

The Berserkers obeyed.

* * *

When Ruffnut had said 'sneak in on the meeting' Astrid had assumed they would hide behind a few crates or tables and then sneak out again. She most definitely did _not_ expect to be up in the rafters. It was way scarier than spinning through the air on the back of an offended Night Fury...

Okay, maybe not as scary as that, but close. The boards were creaky, and Astrid felt like they were gong to crack and drop Astrid and Ruffnut in the middle of the meeting. But Ruffnut was confident in the strength of the rafters and tiptoed across them with perfect balance and ease. Astrid was admittedly a little jealous of her friend's fearlessness as she edged slowly after her.

Ruffnut stopped halfway across the room and turned around. She laid down on her stomach and gripped the side of the rafter with both hands. Carefully and slowly Astrid copied her so that the two of them had their heads together as they watched the vikings assemble below. They carried on conversations that were too quiet for Astrid to hear.

"Will we hear them up here?" Astrid asked quietly. "I can't tell what anyone's saying."

"We will when Chief Stoick starts talking," Ruffnut assured her in a whisper.

Sure enough, the Chief stepped up and raised his hands and called for silence. When he spoke, his voice reverberated against the walls and filled the whole hall. To his right Gobber leaned relaxed on the edge of the oval fire pit. On Stoick's left stood Spitelout, his brother. Continuing around the pit in a sort-of half circle were Phlegma the Fierce (Astrid's mother), Hoark the Haggard, and Snotlout.

Perhaps Snoutlout's presence should be explained. With the dragon attacks only getting worse and more frequent, Gobber and Stoick had decided to create a band of young, strong vikings who were constantly working together to find more effective ways of killing dragons. Snotlout, as the future chief of the Hooligans, had been chosen to lead them. Fishlegs was second-in-command so that the group didn't look like a bunch of fools. The large teen had become exceptionally talented at presenting his ideas as if they were Snotlout's. It was mostly composed of a bunch of boys; Wartihog, Speedifist, Dogsbreath, and a few more names Astrid couldn't recall.

She and Ruffnut weren't part of it. They could be, but they declined. But they promised they would work together as well as keeping and eye on the fires, so the chief wasn't too mad at them for declining. Snotlout was constantly offering them a "prestigious position" though.

Anyway, as leader of their special dragon fighting force, Snotlout was allowed to join the special meetings.

"As you all know," Stoick began in a booming voice. "The dragon raids have been getting worse and we've had no luck finding the nest."

Everyone nodded a bit despondently, though still strong (and stubborn).

"Well we've just received word from the Meathead tribe, they think they may be close to finding a way into the nest."

Astrid thought everyone below looked surprised, though it was hard to tell from this height. Ruffnut grinned.

"Not a boring meeting!" she whispered happily.

Astrid was getting more interested by the second.

"They aren't completely sure about it though," Stoick continued. "But they do plan on starting a search in a few weeks and they have requested assistance from all the tribes to end the dragon threat."

"We'll have a better chance than just sailing aimlessly through that fog," Phlegma pointed out.

Everyone around the circle nodded in agreement.

"Can we trust the Meatheads?" Hoark questioned.

"They haven't crossed us in the past," Stoick said.

"Or anyone else, for that matter," Gobber added.

"We would be able to take on the dragons better with more numbers," Spitelout said. "Less deaths than if we did it on our own."

Phlegma nodded. "Not to mention that we have no idea how many dragons there actually are in the Nest."

"Good," Stoick said. "It's decided then, we'll join the Meatheads. I'll inform them immediately."

Ruffnut and Astrid stayed perfectly still while the Hooligan council adjourned and stayed quiet until they had left. Then they both carefully sat up on the rafters.

"Cool," Ruffnut said. "I guess we'll be finding the dragons soon and ending the war."

Astrid didn't reply. She knew the vikings were doomed. They had _no idea_ what they were up against in the nest. All she could think was, _I need to warn Hiccup._

* * *

Tuffnut was rather impressed by Hiccup.

First he made friends with the Monstrous Nightmare he was supposed to kill, then he flew off on it. Then he became a veritable legend in the Barbaric Archipelago with his Night Fury buddy. And now he would charge off to face Berserkers and he was seemingly unafraid of taunting them.

All in all Tuffnut wished very much that he had made friends with Hiccup earlier. He was so cool! But back to the situation at hand. Hiccup was facing off the Berserker fleet and Dagur with Toothless. So Tuffnut thought it was best if he and Helfire took care of the Berserkers guarding the Skrill (while simultaneously trying to free it from the ice).

Sliding off Helfire's neck, Tuffnut turned to whisper in the Nightmare's ear. He wasn't entirely sure this would work but it had with Snotlout once and the dragon rather reminded him of the now-heir of Berk. "Okay Helfire, these stupid Berserkers don't have _any_ respect for the great power of the Monstrous Nightmares, and they really need to be taught a lesson. So show them how awesome you are and make them regret looking down on you, Mighty Dragon!"

Miraculously, it worked. Helfire's ego flared up in the fires of indignation and he roared at the Berserkers. One of them (obviously the smartest of the group) dropped his ice pick and ran for the row-boat. Two more stood frozen in fear, and the last two (the stupidest of the group) threw down their picks and drew their axes.

Tuffnut just crossed his arms and enjoyed the show. Helfire lunged forward and shot a spurt of fire at the two motionless Vikings. One squeaked and bolted after the smart Berserker. The other's clothes caught fire and he ran for the ocean. Helfire turned his attention to the two vikings with axes ready and rose up on his hind legs. Towering over the two Berserkers, Helfire glared fiercely down at them. Both of the idiots raised their axes and charged Helfire, identical war cries springing from their lungs.

Helfire snorted in derision and hooked one by the back of his vest with his fang and flung him back towards the Skrill. The other viking Helfire snatched up with his claw and tossed him in the air. When the Berserker reached the zenith of his flight, Helfire loosed a well-timed flame and it caught him square in the chest.

The Berserker fell to the ground screaming and he, too, dashed after the smart viking. The fifth and final Berserker got up dazedly from where he'd been thrown into the wall of ice. When he saw Helfire turn his gaze onto him the Berserker screamed and ran for his life. Helfire puffed out his chest and looked rather smug to have taught those puny vikings some respect.

Tuffnut dashed past the Nightmare to the now unguarded Skrill. The ice had been chipped away enough that only a thin layer of ice separated the Skrill from the rest of the world. Then one of Helfire's blasts of fire must have hit it head on because now the Skrill's head was free. And it was blinking.

"Uh... hi there, dragon," Tuffnut greeted tentatively.

The Skrill's yellow slit-pupil eyes snapped to Tuffnut and stayed there. Tuffnut gulped. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Hiccup and Toothless were having a hard time now that the Berserker's ships had come to Dagur's aid.

"Alright, Skrill," Tuffnut said, looking back at the dragon's unnerving yellow eyes. "I'm gonna make a deal with you. See those ships? They're full of bad guys that want to hurt me and you. If you'll rain down some epic destruction on them I'll let you out."

The Skrill just stared at him.

"I'm gonna take that as a yes," Tuffnut decided, since there wasn't much else he could do. "Helfire! Come over here and melt this ice!"

Helfire turned and gave him a heavy-lidded look like, _why would I do what you tell me, puny-human-who-is-beneath-my-mighty-power?_

Tuffnut sighed heavily. "Oh, for Thor'ssake!"

Mustering his best announcing voice, Tuffnut shouted, "O Great and Powerful Mounstrous Nightmare Helfire! Out of great respect for your amazingness please blast this ice with your really hot fire!"

Helfire sniffed self-importantly but lowered his head and breathed a string of flame at the Skrill. Tuffnut had to dive out of the way since Helfire didn't deign to give him time to move. Tuffnut stayed down as the Skrill burst from the ice and flew straight up into the sky.

Shooting to his feet, Tuffnut pointed to the Berserkers who were trying to overwhelm Hiccup and Toothless and shouted to Helfire. "Look, Mighty Helfire! More disrespecters!"

Helfire's jaw dropped and his eyes widened a little like he couldn't believe there were _more_ people who didn't recognize his greatness. The Monstrous Nightmare whirled around and joined Hiccup and Toothless in the fighting, intent on putting these vikings in their proper place beneath him.

Satisfied, Tuffnut looked around for the Skrill. Up above it was cloudy and the sun had almost completely set so he couldn't spot it. Was it even still there? Suddenly a bolt of lightning, thin and weak as it was, struck one of the three Berserker ships in the mast. The wood cracked and burned, falling with a _thump_ on the rest of the ship. Another bolt hit the side of a second ship.

"WOOOH! YEAH!" Tuffnut cheered up at the Skrill. "YOU GO!"

Then the Skrill swooped down and dragged it's claws across the third ship's mast. The Berserkers shouted orders and tried to see the Skrill to fight back. Tuffnut grinned. They weren't going to find it.

"Give it up, Dagur!" Hiccup shouted. "You aren't getting the Skrill! It's gone!"

Tuffnut inched closer to the battle, very aware that he was not armed. He saw Dagur grin insanely (not like the Thorston grin, but really, actually insane) at something past Tuffnut.

"No, it's not," he said evilly.

Tuffnut whirled around to see he Skrill had landed behind him. Tuffnut thought the dragon looked a little weak, but he couldn't really blame it. It had just been unfrozen from a Thor-knows-how-long sleep and done some flying and shooting as soon as it came out.

Many of the Berserkers were falling back to the ships and trying to get away from Helfire's rampage. Although, the dragon seemed to be toying with them, going for respect rather than death, but it was working just fine all the same. But Dagur fought harder, trying and failing to get past Toothless. The Night Fury was having a hard time actually hitting Dagur though. The Berserker chief was very quick and Toothless always needed a second to build up his flame. Plus a few Berserkers were trying to get by at the same time and Toothless had to divide his attention. Hiccup was helping of course. He had a cross-bow that he was surprisingly good at aiming. He was shooting the Berserkers who tried to slip past while Toothless was busy with Dagur.

Tuffnut turned from the battle and faced the Skrill. The dragon looked at him with curious eyes. Tuffnut wondered why it had come back. Gratitude? He had no idea. But he decided to approach. He took a slow, small step toward the dragon, and when it didn't move he took another. Then he realized he had no idea how to befriend a dragon like Hiccup had. Tuffnut racked his brain for all the times he'd seen Hiccup with dragons. The first time, with the Nightmare in the kill ring back on Berk, Hiccup had talked softly to the dragon and removed all his weapons. While they were searching the Dragon Islands for a dragon for him, Hiccup had generally just been friendly with all the dragons. Tuffnut had a sneaking suspicion that Hiccup just had a special way with dragons the _no one_ else had, but it couldn't hurt to give it a shot.

Well it could, but that's besides the point. Tuffnut didn't have any weapons so he raised his hands, palms open, to show that. He edged slowly forward again and started talking in the same calm, quiet voice Hiccup had done.

"Um... hi, Skrill. That was pretty awesome what you did back there. Blowing up all those ships. They totally deserved it. You were awesome."

The dragon cocked his head like he was listening and stayed still while Tuffnut approached. Tuffnut briefly wondered if this dragon was as susceptible to flattery as Helfire was.

"You are one of the coolest dragons ever," Tuffnut continued, and the Skrill straightened up a little. "That lightning thing you do is really awesome. And destructive. Destruction is awesome, and you're really good at it."

At that the Skrill took a slow, tentative step forward.

"You like destruction?" Tuffnut asked, a grin forming on his face. "I like it too."

Tuffnut stopped, now two feet away from the Skrill, and he could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end from being so close to the dragon. "Um, so, look, dragon. See those Vikings? They're really bad, and want to hurt you, me and my friend don't want that."

Very slowly Tuffnut reached his hand forward, but the Skrill snarled at him and took a little step back. Tuffnut froze, unsure of what to do next. He looked over his shoulder and saw Hiccup and Toothless were having trouble with the Berserkers. Turning back to the Skrill, Tuffnut remembered the Nightmare in the kill ring.

"See my friends over there?" Tuffnut asked, pointing back to Hiccup and Toothless. "They're Viking and dragon but their best friends. I'm like him, I like dragons. Not like other Vikings."

He stretched his hand forward, and the Skrill growled again, though it did not take a step back. Tuffnut only had one more idea, but he decided to go ahead and use it. He reached up and lifted his helmet off his head, hoping the dragon wouldn't be offended by bad haircuts. Looking one more time over his shoulder, Tuffnut threw his helmet to the ground and said, "I'm not like them."

The Skrill looked at the helmet, then back up at Tuffnut. It's pupils had widened slightly, and Tuffnut remembered seeing Toothless's pupils get wide like that when he looked at Hiccup. Taking that as a positive sign, Tuffnut said, "We really need to get you out of here, it's not safe. Will you come?"

The Skrill leaned forward and sniffed Tuffnut's outstretched hand. Cautiously Tuffnut placed his hand on the Skrill's snout. It didn't growl. It didn't pull back. The skin soft and rubbery, not like Helfire's or Toothless's. Moving to its side Tuffnut put his other hand on the Skrill. Both hands were shaking. What if something went wrong? He wasn't Hiccup, what if he'd done something wrong? Could he really get on this dragon and survive?

Then the Skrill made a rumbling sound that sounded like purring. Did dragons purr? Tuffnut didn't know, but the sound filled him with comfort and his hands stopped shaking. He pulled himself up and onto the Skrill's shoulders.

"Okay," Tuffnut breathed, his heart fluttering in his chest, from excitement or fear he didn't know. "Let's go."

The Skrill shot into the air and Tuffnut wrapped his arms and legs tightly around the Skrill's neck to stay on. He was too scared to scream. Finally the Skrill leveled out and Tuffnut yelled down.

"HICCUP! COME ON!"

"TUFFNUT?!" came the disbelieving shout.

In a few seconds Hiccup was in the air next to him on Toothless. Both Viking and Night Fury looked at him and the Skrill with astonished faces. Tuffnut shrugged as much as he could without loosening his grip on the Skrill.

Leaning over a little (not very much), Tuffnut called down again, "HELFIRE! THE HUMANS HAVE BEEN TAUGHT THEIR LESSON! LET'S GO, MIGHTY DRAGON!"

Helfire came up into the air behind them, and Hiccup shook his head, a smile on his face. "Let's get out of here, you can explain later, Tuff."

* * *

Astrid pounded on Ruffnut's door _again_. She was starting to learn that the other girl was _not_ a morning person.

Finally, the door swung open to reveal Ruffnut. She was missing her brown jacket and her braids were sloppy. On top of the she had forgotten the two braids that usually stuck out the side of her head and she only had one shoe on.

"Wha – ?" was the only semi-intelligible thing that came out of her mouth.

Astrid rolled her eyes, smiling. Just to be irritating (Ruff was rubbing off on her, and not in a good way), Astrid grinned big and said in her most cheery voice, "Good morning, Ruff!"

The other girl groaned. "Why are you here?"

"Trader Johan is coming today, remember?" Astrid said.

Ruffnut jolted and stood up straight. "Oh yeah!"

Great, now they were back to their normal dynamic of calm and insane instead of cheery and droopy. Ruffnut opened her door the rest of the way to let Astrid in and started looking for her other boot.

"Agh! Where did I put it!" Ruffnut exclaimed, twirling around wildly.

Astrid spotted it sitting on the table in the middle of the room, in plain sight, and tried not to laugh. She covered her mouth with her hand and waited for Ruffnut to see it. After two minutes of not seeing it, Astrid took pity on her.

"It's on the table," she said at last.

"No it's – " Ruffnut glared at the boot. "Oh."

Astrid snickered quietly while Ruffnut tugged on the other boot and she grabbed her brown jacket from the chair beside her. She decided to spare Ruffnut a little more frustrated searching and handed it to her.

The two made their way down to the docks, Ruffnut to ask about her brother and Astrid to support her. But she also hoped to get her letter to Hiccup. He needed to know about the search for the nest. No one would believe her about a mountain sized dragon that would kill them all, and Astrid would rather not explain how she knew that. It was up to Hiccup. Hopefully he and Toothless could do something about it. Either defeat the dragon before the vikings found the Nest or stop them altogether. Something just needed to be done, and Astrid was fresh out of ideas.

The two girls headed down to the docks and found that Trader Johan had not yet arrived. But if past performance was any indicator, he'd be there soon.

"Hey, Astrid!"

Astrid groaned. Ruffnut grimaced sympathetically.

"What do you want, Snotlout?" Astrid said, her teeth gritted as she turned to face him.

"So I was thinking," Snotlout began as he swaggered (or tried to) over. "You know how you've been doing the whole fire brigade thing?"

"Yeah," Astrid responded, already knowing where this was going.

"Well, I think you would be much better suited for the dragon-fighters," Snotlout announced, trying to sound grand and impressive. The key word there being 'trying'.

Astrid knew that deep down buried underneath all that ego and snobbishness and general unpleasantness, Snotlout had a good heart. Albiet a _very, very_ deeply buried good heart that you didn't ever really see. But Astrid was having a hard time remembering that when all she wanted to do was punch him and scream at him to leave her alone.

"Snotlout," Astrid said, sighing to hopefully relieve some of the tension in her body and voice. "I've already told you. The fire – "

"Oh look!" Ruffnutt shouted, effectively cutting Astrid off. "It's Trader Johan's ship!"

Ruffnut grabbed Astrid's hand and dragged her down the ramps toward the dock. Astrid made a mental note to thank her later for the rescue. Even though it would be another fifteen minutes to wait before the trader actually made it to the docks and who knows how long until they could talk to him privately, Astrid and Ruffnut waited on the edge of the docks. But Astrid didn't mind. Anything but turning Snotlout down _again._

It turned out to be several hours before they got a moment alone with Trader Johan but there was plenty to do while they waited, looking through the trader's many wares. But when they finally did, Ruffnut talked to him first.

"Trader Johan," she began when he had finished deliver the news and the rest of the visitors had departed. "I wanted to asked you about something."

"Of course, Ruffnut," Johan agreed. "What is it?"

"It's about my brother," Ruffnut said.

"Ah, Tuffnut," was all Johan said.

Ruffnut nodded, and Astrid continued saying, "Well, we can't find him here and we were just wondering if you've seen him."

"Or if, you know," Ruffnut said, "he happened to take a ride with you."

The trader smiled kindly. "Don't worry, Ruffnut. Tuffnut's fine. I don't imagine he would like it if I told you where he went so I won't but as far as I know, he's fine."

Astrid could see the some of the tension that had been consistently gripping Ruffnut release from her shoulders and she released a relieved exhale.

"When did you last see him?" Astrid asked.

"Ah a couple of weeks, lassie," Johan said. "I'm not really sure exactly."

The two girls nodded, and Ruffnut said, "At least we know he's not here anymore."

Then she thanked the trader and trudged off the boat.

"Oh, before I go," Astrid said, pulling her letter from her belt. "Do you know of any way of reaching the dragon riders?"

Johan raised an eyebrow. "And why, might I ask, would you want to reach the dragon riders?"

Astrid felt her face heat up a little but she kept her shoulders straight and her chin up. "It's important. Really important. Peoples lives are at stake."

Johan nodded. "Alright then, I believe you, Astrid. You've always been a trustworthy lass."

Astrid gave him a relieved smile and handed him the letter. "This needs to get to The First as soon as possible."

"Consider it done, Astrid," Johan said kindly, taking the letter.

Now hopefully Hiccup could do something about it.

* * *

Hiccup leaned back against Toothless, crossed his legs, and thought about how all his friends were the weirdest people in the Barbaric Archipelago. And half of them seemed to have a rather unhealthy obsession with naming things. It had been over a week since Hiccup and Tuffnut had returned from the skirmish with the Berserkers, a Monstrous Nightmare and a Skrill in tow, and the naming war had been going strong since then. Hiccup had thought that once the island was finally named (it only took them a year), that the war would be over. Not so.

Hiccup sighed and tried to tune them out. He looked to his left and saw Helfire dozing comfortably on a rock, heating in the sun. Hiccup hadn't though the Nightmare would stick around but, for whatever reason (Hiccup had no idea), the dragon had deigned to stay.

"How about Spark?"

"Striker?"

"Bolt?"

"Lightning?"

"Agh! Guys! You have horrible ideas!"

Hiccup smirked and looked over at Tuffnut who was standing, and scowling, next to the Skrill while Hall and Lodin threw suggestions at him. Hiccup cocked his head, still hardly believing that Tuffnut had befriended the supposedly untamable dragon. On top of that he was still having a hard time believing what Tuffnut had said afterwards, about how he had only done things he'd seen Hiccup do. Either Tuffnut was more humble than Hiccup had ever thought or the other teen was truly shaken up (or surprised, or terrified, or any number of things) that he truly meant what he said. Both ways seemed so implausible.

"Oh, how about Whitefire?" Lodin said.

Tuffnut crossed his arms. "I am not listening to either of you. And you can't make me. _I_ get to name him. I won't use any of your names."

"How about Sparky?" Hall suggested, completely ignoring Tuffnut's last sentence.

The Skrill growled.

Hiccup thought the Skrill might be one of the smarter species, like Night Furies, that truly understood what was going on. Clearly the dragon was not pleased with the name "Sparky." Hiccup didn't blame him.

"Crackle?"

The Skrill whined and nudged Tuffnut.

"Stop it," Tuffnut ordered. "You're gonna make him cry from horrible ideas."

"Skrillfire?" Lodin said.

Tuffnut grimaced. "Now you're gonna make _me_ cry."

Hiccup snorted – a habit he was picking up from Toothless – and looked at his dragon. "Do you think they'll ever quit?"

Toothless gave a snort of his own and shook his head.

Hiccup laughed. "Yeah, I think you're right, bud. They're just always going to find something that needs to be named and fight over it."

Toothless nodded sadly and looked over to their right. Hiccup followed his gaze and saw young Hanna playing with her dragon. It was a Timberjack. The dragon was a bit on the small side for his breed but that didn't mean he was small for a dragon. In fact, the Timberjack – Cutter – was probably the biggest dragon on the island, bigger even than the Nightmares.

Hiccup realized what Toothless was saying and looked fearfully into his eyes. "You're absolutely right, Toothless. I hope they don't corrupt Hanna either."

Hiccup and Toothless were both rather fond of the little twelve year old addition to the dragon riders. She was feisty, adorable, and loved Toothless. Hiccup thought she stroked his ego a bit _too_ much, but Toothless had no objections to her flattery. But she was still twelve and cute so Hiccup couldn't bring himself to tell her off.

"That's his name!" Tuffnut suddenly cried, drawing Hiccup's attention back. "Staticzapboom!"

Hiccup frowned. That was probably one of the dumbest names he'd ever heard for a dragon. "You're kidding, right?"

"What do you think?" Tuffnut asked his dragon. The Skrill looked up at Tuffnut and did a happy little wiggle thing with its body, eyes bright and happy.

He wasn't kidding.

"Seriously?" Hiccup managed to choke out.

Tuffnut looked over at him with narrowed eyes. "You're one to talk. You named your dragon '_Toothless_'."

Hiccup glanced at the Night Fury and the dragon gave a shrug. Hiccup had to agree. Tuffnut kind of had a point there. "Alright, but just know, I am not going to call him that all the time. His name's going to get shortened to 'Static'."

Tuffnut shrugged. "Then you'll be missing out on the full awesomeness and destructiveness of his name."

Hiccup shook his head, a smile playing on his lips. "Yep, Toothless. We have the weirdest friends in the whole of the Barbaric Archipelago."

Toothless huffed and rested his head on the ground. Hiccup knew what he was saying and he wholeheartedly agreed. _Yeah, but you wouldn't trade them for the world._

* * *

**WOW! Almost 6000 words! This chapter got a little out of hand. Sorry about that. Snotlout threw me a bone, and I started chewing on it, and then I got attached, and now it'll be important later on, so... yeah, blame Snotlout for the delay. And while you're at it blame Tuffnut for making it so long.**

**Don't forget to review! (I promise, I'm trying to do better about responding to reviews. I'm bad like that) Although favorites make me just as happy! (Well close. Not as much, but they do make me really happy).**

**And to the guest who wanted cookies, (::) (::) (::) Of _course_ you can have cookies! (::) (::) (::)**


	6. Getting Down to Business

**Disclaimer: I may not maybe not quite own anything at all in HTTYD.**

**Chapter 6**

**Getting Down to Business**

"Alright, everyone, great job. We're done."

Hiccup rolled his shoulders as he watched his little group of dragon riders take off from the sea stack and head back home. They had really only been practicing intensely for about six months, Hiccup thought, rocking back on his heels, depending on when they joined. Minus the big chunk of time taken out for their little skirmish with Dagur and the recovery time they'd needed. All in all, these viking outcasts (not Outcasts), were coming along fantastically with their dragons. Even though none them were naturals at dragon flying like Hiccup was, they made up for it with hard work. Hiccup was insanely proud of them.

Well, not all of them lacked natural talent. Hiccup looked over to the last dragon-viking pair and took a few meandering steps toward them. Tuffnut was rubbing furiously at his dragon's skin right under his wing. Static (Hiccup refused to call him Staticzapboom) was laying on the ground, one leg jerking like a dog, enjoying the attention. Hiccup couldn't figure exactly _why_ the skin under the Skrill's wing was its sweet spot, it just was.

"You guys up for a little extra flying?" Hiccup asked, grinning as the pair stopped and Static immediately perked up at the word 'flying'.

Toothless was also _very_ well acquainted with that word. He jolted from his spot where he lounged at the edge of the sea stack and started leaping in circles around Hiccup. A very obvious _YES YES YES! FLYING!_

Hiccup laughed at his best friend's antics and glanced over at Tuffnut and Static. "Are you guys coming?"

"Yes!" Tuffnut exclaimed, jumping up onto Static's back and hooking his harness to the rubber saddle. The saddle was a little crude as Hiccup and Drott had scraped it together in one night (although crude for Hiccup was still fairly well-made) so Tuff could begin flying right away. The rubber would hopefully protect Tuffnut if Static spontaneously decided to shoot lightning. That had yet to happen.

Static took two bounding leaps and jumped off the sea stack into flight. Hiccup got onto Toothless's back, the dragon impatiently stamping his feet. The dragon snorted when Hiccup had _finally_ strapped himself in, and shot straight up into the sky. The two flew hundreds of feet through the clouds until Toothless decided they were high enough. Hiccup grinned and gripped his handles in anticipation. He knew what was coming.

Toothless tucked his wings against his body so tightly that the tips pushed against Hiccup's legs. The dragon tilted downward, and Hiccup pressed himself as flat as he possibly could against Toothless's neck. Then the fell down. Straight down. Hiccup whooped in exhilaration as he stomach flew into his chest at the sudden drop in height. They zoomed toward the ocean, getting closer and closer to the water. Hiccup used to scream in fear when Toothless did this. Sure, he trusted Toothless with his life but it was still _scary._ But not anymore.

"YEEEEEEAAAAAAH!" Hiccup yelled, laughing gleefully.

Toothless opened his wings ever-so-slightly to slow and tilt their descent, otherwise Toothless's wings would be ripped off when he stopped. At the last possible second Toothless snapped his wings the rest of the way and they flattened out, Toothless's claw tips tickling the top of the sea. But their momentum was barely hindered by their change of direction. They streaked across the water at tear-inducing speeds, leaving a spray of water in their wake.

"SHOW OFFS!" Tuffnut shouted from above.

Hiccup and Toothless only laughed. Toothless climbed up until he was gliding next to Static.

"How's the saddle working for you?" Hiccup asked, eyeing the contraption critically.

"Good," Tuffnut said. "It feels a little loose, but other than that I think it's fine."

"Hmm, I can think of a few adjustments but they can wait," Hiccup said. "Until then, you up for a little follow the leader?"

"You're on," Tuffnut said. "I think I saw a storm that way."

"Nothing too dangerous, Tuff," Hiccup warned. "We don't want you dieing."

"Please," Tuffnut snorted. "Dangerous is my middle name. Literally. Besides, shouldn't we test this saddle out on our own time instead of in battle."

Hiccup sighed and muttered to Toothless. "I hate it when he says something logical."

"You've been a negative influence," Tuffnut quipped cheerfully. "Come on, we'll race you."

Static whirled around and headed for the horizon that was tinted dark gray. Hiccup was pretty sure Static also knew the word 'race' because the Skrill was already zooming across the ocean.

Toothless growled indignantly, _Not a fair start!_ and flew after them. The two caught up after a minute and Toothless passed Static. The Skrill growled playfully at them and pushed forward, trying to pass Toothless. But the Night Fury just laughed throatily at the other dragon. The Skrill was fast for sure, and could nearly keep up with Toothless. However, Hiccup didn't think he could ever outfly Toothless unless he was in the lightning. Even then it would probably be close.

Although Hiccup was only guessing. He'd never actually seen Static fly through a storm yet. Looked like they were about to find out.

Toothless and Hiccup pulled farther ahead, the dragon basking in his victory and Hiccup in his speed. He had his helmet on—the new design with a visor—but the wind still bit at his face through the eye holes, but it wasn't as bad as it used to be. In fact, Hiccup thought it was perfect. Just enough to remind him he was flying, on a Night Fury at that, but not so much as to annoy him.

When they finally reached the storm Tuffnut took the role of leader and they frolicked around the edge of the storm, getting splattered with rain but not yet in danger of being hit by lightning. Hiccup eyed the clouds and disliked the idea of flying through with all the metal he and Toothless were wearing. It would be really nice if there was a way to protect themselves against the lightning. But, unfortunately, Hiccup didn't know it.

"Let's go through!" Tuffnut 'Dangerous' Thorston shouted.

Hiccup eyed the frequent cracks of lightning splitting through the center of thick storm clouds and said, "Are you nuts!?"

Tuffnut gave him a manic grin, and Hiccup remembered who he was talking to. The next few minutes were without a doubt the most hair-raising (pun intended) of his life. Tuffnut and Static dove through the storm, not bothering to even try avoiding the bolts of lightning. Each time the Skrill was hit Hiccup's stomach flipped, afraid that Tuffnut would be fried to a crisp. But the rubber saddle did the job as far as Hiccup could tell. In addition to that fear was the one that the lightning would strike him and Toothless. But once again, his fears remained unproven, as the lightning seemed to be satisfied with the Skrill.

Hiccup wasn't sure how long it had been when he finally began to coax Tuffnut and Static out of the storm, but it definitely wasn't the short few minutes he had originally thought. By the time they were headed back to the Wingback Isles (with Tuffnut whooping happily all the way), the sun was just beginning its downward descent. Hiccup's stomach grumbled, reminding him he'd missed breakfast and it was past lunch time.

"That was awesome!" Tuffnut shouted.

"You mean almost dying?" Hiccup questioned sardonically while inside his heart was racing with excitement that still hadn't died down. Hiccup was the last person to admit how high he got off stupid stunts. Toothless was probably the only one who really knew.

"Oh, lighten up," Tuffnut said, laughing and patting Static on the shoulders. "Be a little reckless and destructive once and a while!"

Hiccup snorted. "Were you paying attention during the dragon raids?"

"That's true," Tuffnut chuckled. "You were very destructive. But you haven't done anything like that recently!"

Toothless snorted in disagreement, and Hiccup reflexively flicked his 'ear' plate.

"I just flew through a lightning storm with you—oh _Thor!_"

Tuffnut looked up at Hiccup who was laughing so hard he was struggling to breath. "What?"

Hiccup gasped a little, trying to respond but couldn't over his laughter.

Tuffnut was just plain confused. He glanced at Static but the Skrill didn't have any answers. Tuffnut crossed his arms and waited impatiently for Hiccup to settle down.

"You're hair," Hiccup finally said, still giggling.

Tuffnut wasn't wearing his helmet because, apparently, lightning dragon and metal didn't go together very well. But still... "Look, I know you don't like my haircut – "

" – hair_burn_ – "

"But I'm _not _going to let Aesa cut it short. I _will _grow it back out," Tuffnut proclaimed.

"While I still disagree," Hiccup said, smiling. "That's not what I meant. Static was a good name choice."

With that Hiccup and Toothless sped up quickly to clear the remaining distance to their island.

Tuffnut frowned and patted his hair, realizing why Hiccup had laughed. All of his hair, even the huge (and, as Hiccup put it, unfortunate) clumps of hair were all sticking _straight_ out. Tuffnut scowled. Okay, so maybe Aesa should cut it short. Much shorter. Otherwise he was going to look like a stupid, harmless idiot instead of a crazy, dangerous, Viking, dragon rider.

"I don't suppose you could turn down the hair-raising thing, Staticzapboom?" Tuffnut asked hopefully.

Static snorted, which Tuffnut took for a no.

Sighing, Tuffnut accepted his fate. "Oh well, I tried."

A minute later the two landed and saw that, apparently, Hiccup had already called over everyone to see Tuffnut's hair. Giggles went all around.

"Wow, real mature, _Chief Hiccup,_" Tuffnut said sarcastically. Wait, sarcastically? Hiccup was rubbing off on him and it'd barely been three weeks!

Hiccup scowled, like he always did with his 'title' but quickly cheered up again. "Hey, everyone needs a laugh every now and again, Tuff."

Tuffnut sighed and decided he may as well get it over with now. Facing Aesa, he managed to ground out two words. Two words filled with pain and defeat, but they needed to be said.

"Cut it."

Everyone stifled giggles and grins, but Aesa managed to take up a sympathetic expression. Although, Tuffnut was sure she was still at least chuckling on the inside. And on the inside, he admitted that it _was_ kind of funny. However, he kept a scowl permanently fixed on his face as he followed Aesa to their 'Great Hall' (_another_ thing they needed to name, since it wasn't really a great hall, but they did more than just eat there. Nonetheless, Hiccup seemed morally against naming much of anything. He always got really irritated when people *coughHallandLodincough* brought up naming something else). He needed to keep up appearance, at the very least out of respect for his lost dreadlocks. Which _used_ to be a thing of awesomeness.

Alas, Tuffnut sighed as Aesa sat him down on a stool and took the scissors from Tofa's outstretched hand. The dreads probably would've been just as susceptible to the static that made his choppier hair stand on end, but it was still sad to let go of his dream of having them back.

It had only been a matter of a few minutes when it was all over. Aesa walked around in front of him and examined her handiwork. She snipped a couple of adjustments, before stepping back and nodding.

"Good," Tofa said with a little chuckle. "Now you look less like an idiot, and more like a handsome dragon warrior."

"Though not as handsome as The First dragon warrior," Aesa put in, elbowing Tofa with what Tuffnut immediately dubbed as The Girl Grin.

He felt his jaw drop open and he blurted, "You think _Hiccup_ is hot?"

Both girls looked at him like they'd forgotten he was there, and then they shared a Girl Look.

"He's just kind of adorable," Tofa admitted, somehow looking sheepish and matter-of-fact at the same time.

"But I thought..." Tuffnut stuttered a moment before he could form the correct words. "Don't girls like big, tall, _muscly_ men?"

Aesa and Tofa both giggled and shared another Girl Grin.

"Big and tall can be nice," Aesa explained slowly, like she was talking to a small child, "but only if a guy is handsome."

"And who's to say Hiccup _doesn't_ have muscles?" Tofa added, grinning teasingly at him. "Riding a dragon is hard work, you know, not to mention a Night Fury."

For a moment, Tuffnut sat completely still, his brain vainly trying to wrap his mind around the concept of _girls_ liking _Hiccup_. Dragons he could understand. Hiccup just had a way of turning on pretty much every single dragon's soft side. But _girls?!_ This was insane. Tufffnut decided that when dragons started making more sense than humans it was time to go.

Leaping to his feet, Tuffnut said, "Thanks, gotta go," and bolted in the other direction. He ran a good hundred paces without realizing where he was going and rammed straight into Hiccup himself.

Hiccup stumbled backwards a bit, but managed to get his feet back under him before he hit the ground. Tuffnut was not so agile, or lucky, and his momentum sent him sprawling forward.

"Whoa, slow down a bit, Tuff," Hiccup said, adjusting the bundle in his arms and offering him a hand. "You almost flew as fast as Static there."

Tuffnut accepted Hiccup's hand and climbed to his feet.

"Nice haircut," Hiccup teased lightly.

Tuffnut groaned, his mind instantly going back to the after-haircut conversation.

Thankfully, Hiccup didn't inquire further and instead hefted his bundle a little higher. "This is your saddle. I was planning on going ahead and making those changes. It'd be good for you to see how it works in case you ever have to make a patch if you're away from home."

"Yeah, sounds good," Tuffnut agreed, eager to wash out his recent learnings with something else.

"I think we have enough material to start on a helmet," Hiccup rambled as they began trudging toward the forge. "Since that's one of the most important things we have. Protect our identity and our lives and all that. But I'll need to go to Bardikk again for more rubber. We don't have a lot of it on hand since I wasn't really expecting to be making a saddle for a Skrill. But I think their next Market Day is only a few days away, so hopefully that won't be much of a problem..."

Tuffnut's attention wandered as Hiccup starting going off on all the things they did and didn't need, understanding that he wasn't really talking _to_ him, more _at_ him. He was just organizing his thoughts. But it made Tuffnut realize that the other boy had taken a lot of responsibility on himself by assembling this little band of vikings and building their little village. He was doing a great job though, and Tuffnut couldn't help but think they'd all terribly underestimated him back on Berk.

Or maybe, Tuffnut thought when Toothless appeared and matched Hiccup's stride, he just needed someone to bring it out.

* * *

A week after the meeting about it, Stoick made the announcement.

"The Meatheads have told us they are confident that they can lead us and whoever will join them to the Dragon Nest," Stoick boomed. "I have decided to join them."

A few murmurings rifled through the crowd, and Ruffnut and Astrid shared a knowing look.

"All vikings have been affected by the curse of the dragons," Stoick continued. "Their reach has extended more harshly to the other tribes in the last year. This is enough to unite the tribes long enough to deal with the dragons. If not, the dragons will only get stronger and bolder. We must act now! Who's with me!?"

The Berkians took a moment to respond, but no one could fault the Chief's logic. Nor could anyone pass up a real, substantial chance to exterminate the dragons once and for all. Answers arose from the crowds one viking at a time.

"I'm with you, Stoick."

"Just give the word, Chief."

"Ready, Cheif, let's go kill some dragons."

And so on until the whole hall had voiced their support.

Well, most of the hall.

"Good, ready the ships."

The vikings dispersed, heading home to pack or to the docks to prepare the ships.

Ruffnut and Astrid hung back, seeing the chief approach them.

"Astrid, Ruffnut," Stoick addressed them. "I expect you two to come as well."

His tone dared them to argue, to come up with an excuse for avoiding dragon-fighting _again_. That was something the two girls had avoided for completely different reasons, but avoided nonetheless. For her part, Astrid desperately scrambled her mind for a reason, but Ruffnut had other ideas.

"Yes, Chief," Ruffnut responded. "Of course we will."

Stoick nodded in satisfaction and left the girls.

Ruffnut looked at Astrid, who was still trying to think of a way out, and crossed her arms. "This is a chance to kill the dragons and end the raids once and for all. What's got you all twisted?"

Astrid took in Ruffnut's no-nonsense expression (a rare one to be seen on a Thorston's face, to be sure) and blurted, "But we can't end it once and for all! Even with all the tribes!"

Ruffnut's eyebrows climbed to her hairline in disbelief. "Does this have something to do with Hiccup? Because I really don't think making friends with one dragon – "

"No!" Astrid interrupted. "I mean, yes, it has to do with Hiccup, but not the way you think."

Astrid wrung her hands, something so utterly unlike her. Should she tell Ruffnut? Could she trust her not to tell the Chief or anyone else? Of course she could, Astrid decided quickly. They were partners in crime. She could tell Ruffnut. In fact, she _should_ tell her.

"Not here," Astrid said, grabbing Ruffnut's wrist. She dragged the other girl out of the Great Hall toward the forest. Ruffnut didn't protest and, once she got over her surprise, matched Astrid's hurried stride.

They were deep into the forest when Astrid finally stopped, sure that no one would be out this far when they were preparing for war.

"Okay, Ruff, here's what happened," Astrid began. "But you can't tell _anyone_ about this."

Ruffnut nodding seriously, excitement at being let in on a big secret shining in her eyes. Astrid should have expected that Ruffnut's immediate response would not be the huge monstrosity that they would soon be facing.

"That's it?" she questioned a bit incredulously. "You just left?"

Astrid frowned. "Yeah, he said he'd figure something out and I left."

"You just left?" Ruffnut asked.

Realizing what the other girl was asking, Astrid felt her face heat up a little. "Yes! I just left."

Ruffnut snorted. "Oh come on! What happened to all those 'he's the least ugly guy on Berk', hmm?"

"Well, he doesn't exactly have much competition," Astrid growled. "Besides, that was years ago. Now can we please focus on the huge dragon that is going to kill us ALL?"

Ruffnut planted her hands on her hips and raised one eyebrow.

Astrid groaned, knowing she would get nowhere with the important stuff until Ruffnut got what she wanted. "Fine, I punched him on the shoulder for kidnapping me..."

"_And?_"

"_And_ I may have..." Astrid face heated all the way this time and she mumbled, "Pecked him on the cheek."

"Hah!"

Rolling her eyes, Astrid folded her arms. "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I sent him a letter about the attack by Trader Johan but I don't have any idea when he'll get it, or if he'll get in time. So, you know, destruction of the viking culture looming here."

Ruffnut didn't bother to wipe the triumphant smirk off her face but did, admirably, focus on the task at hand. "Okay, okay. So, huge dragon, will kill us all. Is there anything we _can_ do?"

Astrid pressed her lips together. "I'm not sure. I don't know if I can tame a dragon like Hiccup did, and I'm pretty sure I couldn't ride one in time without him here to teach me."

Ruffnut grinned again suggestively, and Astrid had to punch her to bring her back from lala-land.

"But we should go," Astrd continued. "We can at least go down with the tribe I guess."

"Maybe we can figure something out there?" Ruffnut suggested.

Astrid shrugged helplessly. "I have no idea. That thing is so big..."

"Then let's hope Hiccup gets your message," Ruffnut said.

"At least you'll know what's coming," Astrid said. "I don't think anyone else would believe me."

Ruffnut nodded, and the two shieldmaidens headed back toward the village, both hoping that the opportunity they needed would present itself. And soon.

* * *

Hiccup was too tired to go to bed. At first, that sounds like a bit of a contradiction but when you can just use a Night Fury as your bed, things tend to work out fine. Toothless had been exploding with extra energy that day, which he didn't deign to share with Hiccup, and even after their crazy flight that morning with Tuffnut and Static he had went in for an even crazier moonlit flight. Coupled with an especially busy day, Hiccup was truly exhausted.

Aesa said he didn't get enough sleep in the first place. Hiccup told her vikings didn't need that much sleep and waved her off. He was kind of regretting that now. But, deciding it was Toothless's fault he was so tired in the first place, Hiccup collapsed against the dragon's side and closed his eyes. It felt like he'd only just fallen asleep when Toothless was nudging him awake again.

Hiccup sleepily pushed the dragon's head away and mumbled, "'M tryin' t' sleep, T'thless."

He heard Toothelss snort and nudge him a little harder.

"G'way," he muttered again and ignored the dragon's insistence.

Finally Toothless decided to resort to drastic measures and stood up.

"Oof," Hiccup said as he hit the floor, groaning.

"Busy day yesterday?" someone who was most definitely not Toothless said.

Sighing, Hiccup sat up and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms. Then he dropped his hands and squinted through the morning sunlight to see Hall. Wait, morning sunlight? Hall?

Hiccup jerked to his feet, wide awake now. You know you've slept late when Hall of people comes to get you up. "What time is it?"

Hall smirked, leaning against the doorway. "Midmorning. You missed breakfast with everybody. I guess Toothless decided to let you sleep."

Hiccup gave his best friend a grateful smile then said to Hall, "Just give me a minute."

He shed his black leather riding armor which he had slept in, wincing at the creases and aches it had caused. He wasn't making that mistake again. He made quick work of removing Toothless's harness too and then hurried out of his house. His stomach was grumbling.

Hall fell in to step next to them, along with Brighteyes, all the way to their pavilion. The other Viking didn't say anything until Hiccup and Toothless both had their respective breakfasts in front of them.

"So," Hall began slowly, resting his elbows on the table. "The Red Death."

Hiccup sighed. "I know, Hall, but I want us to be prepared."

"I know you do," Hall said, placating. "But we can't keep putting it off."

"I _know_ that, Hall," Hiccup repeated firmly. "But I want everyone to survive the encounter. That dragon is _huge_. Besides... I still have no idea how we're going to defeat it."

"None at all?" Hall probed.

"None," Hiccup confirmed. "I doubt our fire is going to affect it very much, and it's hide is too thick to really get any metal through, I'm sure. Not to mention it's _huge._ Even if we could stab it, it'd probably be as painful as a pinprick or a bee sting."

"Be that as it may, I don't think we can put it off any longer," Hall said. "Aesa and I have been keeping an eye on dragon activity as best we can through our patrols and days off. The raids are getting more frequent and the dragons are going farther out to hunt, all the way to the other tribes. This is getting worse. The Red Death is getting more greedy _and_ more powerful."

Hiccup exhaled heavily through his nose. He'd suspected as much, but to have Hall confirm it was depressing to say the least. He leaned against the tabletop, staring sightlessly at his breakfast, mind racing. He wasn't sure his band of dragon riders could be more prepared than they already were, but _he_ wasn't prepared. He had no plan. He wasn't even sure he'd ever be able to come up with one. But Hall was right, they had to do something. Otherwise their own dragons were going to fall under the Red Death's control again. He was also pretty sure the vikings would eventually be starved by the raids if they didn't die in them. Should they attempt it anyway? Even if there was little to no chance of survival?

Probably.

Coming to a decision, Hiccup looked up at Hall and said, "Okay. As soon as Tuffnut's ready I'll make one last scout to see if I can find anything and then, regardless of what I do or don't find, we'll attack."

"And when will Tuffnut be ready?" Hall questioned sharply.

"Soon," Hiccup assured. "He's a natural with Static. Once Drott and I finish his gear he'll be as ready as any of us."

"Good." Hall nodded and stood from the table. He took three steps away and then glanced back. "Hiccup?"

"Hmm?" Hiccup said, going back to staring at the table.

"We'll figure it out," Hall promised. "Together, we'll find a way."

Hiccup looked up and smiled gratefully at him. "I hope so."

* * *

Ruffnut watched Berk disappear behind the horizon, a cold fist clenching her gut. Guessing from Astrid's expression, she was probably feeling the same. The gigantic dragon Astrid had described had seemed almost beyond belief, but Ruffnut believed her. They were partners in crime, thick as thieves, she wouldn't lie.

But Ruffnut almost wished she could have remained ignorant of the fate they would meet at the Dragon's Nest, if, in fact, they got there. Then at least she could have lived her last days filled with adrenaline instead of anxiety. Even with all the tribes at their side, a dragon like the one Astrid described would probably win.

"Hiccup will be there," Astrid said quietly. "He has to be."

Ruffnut nodded, but she wished someone else would be there. Now she wasn't to prideful to admit she missed her brother. At a time like this she _really_ wanted him back. Hopefully he was safe wherever he was. Ruffnut imagined him causing mayhem on some poor village, safe and sound, ignorant of the nearing end of most of the vikings in the Barbaric Archipelago.

The idiot, Ruffnut thought fondly.

* * *

**A/N: 'Kay, guys! I am alive! Surprised? Yeah, me too. Busy real life and all that jazz. Plus my own original characters are quite demanding. But you know how many of you are following this story? Over 100! You guys are amazing. But anyway, we're getting close to seeing our dragon riders in action. Are you guys excited? I'm excited :D Oh, and this is how I've decided to deal with reviews. I think I got everybody. I really appreciate all the favorites and reviews, guys. Love you all!**

**thetattooedrose: Thank you :)**

**GrimCreeper: Done.**

**TheGallopingCupcake: Yep, finally, after 5 chapters, he has a dragon. With a Tuff-style name. And, please don't die yet. I really like your reviews.**

**Fleightfire: Correct-a-mundo.**

**Hiccupisnotuseless: Ooh, best chapter? Thanks :) Now let's see if I can top it.**

**God of Spirits-Spirit Black: Yes, only Tuffnut.**

**Guest: Thanks :)**

**silverray989: I'm glad you like it, I'm getting quite attached to Helfire myself.**

**faisyah865: Thank you :) *is pleased with myself***

**MySweetYaoi49: Mhm, something along those lines.**

**RoseJustice: You know, that's a fantastic idea, and I might just use it. You're a smart person, Rose.**

**Ramen-luver101: Thanks :)**

**steibrecher: Thank you so much :) That's exactly what I've been going for, so it's good to know it's working!**

**Luna-Moongoddess: Good question, you'll just have to wait and see!**

**Guest: Sorry, but I'm not doing Tuff/Hiccup. A) I've already planned on Hiccstrid and B) That's not my cup of tea, if you know what I mean.**


	7. The Tribes Assemble

**Disclaimer: *scowls* Oh, you know already. No need to rub it in.**

**Chapter 7**

**The Tribes Assemble or The Plot Thickens**

Two days later at breakfast Hiccup made an announcement that Tuffnut honestly didn't expect. The sort-of chief let them eat until everyone was finished – or almost – and then spoke up.

"Alright, everyone, listen up," Hiccup began, and every Viking at the table immediately gave him their attention. "The Red Death has been getting stronger; Hall and Aesa have been keeping an eye on it and told me. We've waited long enough. So I've decided it's time."

The group shuffled nervously but Tuffnut saw a determined glint in every eye. As for himself he sat up straighter. They were Vikings, right? They could defeat a dragon.

"I'll be honest with you all," Hiccup said. "I'm not sure we can win. But we have to try, for all Vikings' sake."

Nods went all around the table.

"Hanna and Aesa," Hiccup said, turning to the two girls. "You two aren't going to fight. I want you on the sidelines ready to pull one of our own out of the way if they get overwhelmed."

The girls nodded, and Hanna looked a little relieved. She was a brave girl to be sure, but not ready to be fighting dragonback. Aesa didn't have a flying dragon either, just two feisty little Terrible Terrors, so she was an obvious choice to keep an eye on things as well.

"The rest of us are going to fight the Red Death. I don't know if it can order other dragons to attack us, but we're going to plan for that. I'm going on a scouting mission before we attack to see if I can find anything else before we go."

Tension was high at the table, Tuffnut could tell. Torfi and Tofa had their shoulders rigid, Drott's fists were clenched on the table, and Lodin had his lips pressed together into a thin line. Arni was shaking a little, staring at his plate. Hall seemed the least affected, staring calmly and supporting at Hiccup. For his part, Tuffnut wasn't exactly sure how to feel. He was excited at the prospect of a battle, but not particularly his _last_ battle.

His mind flashed suddenly to Ruffnut, and Tuffnut admitted to himself that he missed her. He'd regret it if his last words with her were childish bickering.

"You've all come a long way," Hiccup said, breaking into Tuffnut's musings. "And I'm proud of every one of you. That said, this is going to be dangerous, and very probably deadly. So if any of you want to back out—"

"What!" Lodin interrupted, starting in surprise. "We're not going _anywhere_, Cloudyhead!"

Tofa glared at Lodin and kicked him under the table. "Without that last bit, I agree with Lodin. We're a team, Hiccup, all of us. We're in this together... to the end or glory."

Everyone smiled around the table, except for Hanna and Tuffnut. Evidently, this was something they'd said before the newer arrivals' time.

"To the end or glory," Drott and Torfi agreed at the same time.

"Of course we're coming," Aesa said with a smile.

"Yep," Hanna chirped in addition.

"I'm coming," Arni put in.

"You know I support you," Hall said simply.

"Just give the word, Chief," Tuffnut added with a grin. "I got your back too."

Hiccup grinned at all of them, pride rolling off him in waves. "Good, I'm glad to have you all."

Hall lifted his wooden cup and said, "To the end or glory."

Everyone copied the toast.

After a moment of silence, Hiccup spoke up again. "Drott and I are going to get some supplies from Bardikk. Hall and Aesa are in charge until I get back. Expect to be gearing for battle a week from today."

Everyone nodded and dispersed. Tuffnut went to find Staticzapboom. The Skrill was on the edge of the island, head erect. Sidling up next to his dragon, Tuffnut followed Staticzapboom's line of sight and saw a dark tinge of storm clouds on the horizon (quite normal weather for the Barbaric Archipelago).

"See a storm there, Staticzapboom?" Tuffnut asked conversationally.

Staticzapboom warbled in agreement and nudged Tuffnut's shoulder.

"Yeah, it's probably a good idea," Tuffnut agreed, patting the dragon's shoulder. "You need to get your strength up. We're gonna fight the evil Red Death next week."

"You shouldn't go alone," a voice called over.

Tuffnut looked over his shoulder and saw Lodin approach with Flire trailing behind.

"Hiccup doesn't like us going out alone unless we're on a patrol," Lodin explained. "Doesn't want anyone getting lost or hurt."

Tuffnut nodded. That made sense. "You up for a little storm chasing?" he asked.

* * *

Hiccup and Drott decided to take the boat to Bardikk since it would make carrying their purchases much easier. They tied a rope to the stern, as usual, and Blackmetal (Drott's dark green-brown Gronckle) pulled them along at a steady pace. Toothless, being the lazy dragon that he was, let Blackmetal do most of the work, though he pulled them along for a quick sprint to give Blackmetal a break.

As a result, they arrived at Bardikk around noon with both dragons stowed below and out of sight so they could enter the market without their disguises, which attracted an unfortunate amount of attention at this point. Drott in tow, Hiccup navigated the now bustling market of Bardikk with purpose. They quickly bought all the leather, metal, and rubber they needed as well as some medicinal herbs and bandages, just in case they survived. All in all, it was a productive, efficient, and quick trip... until they ran into Trader Johan.

"Hiccup!"

Surprised, Hiccup turned to see the trader hurrying towards him from the direction of the docks. "Trader Johan?"

"I'm glad I've run into you, lad," Johan said by way of greeting. "I'm sure you're busy so I'll get right down to it."

"Oookay," Hiccup said slowly, shifting his wicker basket on his shoulder. "You go ahead, Drott, I'll catch up."

Drott nodded and headed down to the docks.

"What is it?" Hiccup asked, hoping he didn't sound too anxious. What could Johan want?

Johan lowered his voice and leaned in a little. "Can you get into contact with The First?"

Hiccup was so surprised he didn't say anything for a second.

When he hesitated Johan plowed forward. "It's just, with you getting into all that dragon business back on Berk, I thought you might know him, and I have a very important message for him."

Recovering from his surprise, Hiccup found his voice and said, "Yes, I know him. What's this message about?"

Johan pulled a letter from his belt and handed it to Hiccup. "I don't know. Astrid Hofferson gave it to me and said that it was very important this get to him as soon as possible."

Hiccup took the letter and his hands instantly itched to open it. An urgent letter from Astrid? What could possibly be in it?

"You'll make sure it gets to him quickly?" Johan asked, concern shining in his gaze. "Lives depend on it, she said."

Hiccup didn't like the sound of that, but a smirk still threatened to escape. "He'll get it today."

"Thank you, Hiccup," Johan said with a grateful grin. "I have to get back to my ship. Perhaps we'll have time for a chat later?"

"I hope so," Hiccup said. Maybe, just maybe, he would still be around later.

Trader Johan left and Hiccup hurried down to the docks where Drott waited. He forced himself not to read the letter until Bardikk was behind the horizon, but he kept it clutched tightly in his hand the whole time.

Finally, they were secluded enough and Drott went to release the dragons while Hiccup opened the letter. He read it twice before looking up at his three companions.

"What does it say?" Drott asked, a little anxious at the look on Hiccup's face.

Taking a deep breath, Hiccup responded grimly. "Looks like we're moving up the attack time."

* * *

Ruffnut and Astrid hung onto the edge of the ship and leaned out, doing their best to catch the voices of the two chiefs. Although, really, it wasn't that hard. Vikings aren't generally known for being soft speakers. Stoick had gone over to greet the Meathead chief, Magadon the Murderous, and Astrid and Ruffnut were intent on knowing everything.

"Ah, Stoick the Vast," Magadon boomed. "Chief of the Berkians, I knew I could count on you."

"Well, we are the closest to the Nest," Stoick said. "We bear the brunt of the devils' attacks. It's good to see you as well, Magadon. Who else has come?"

"Almost everyone," Magadon replied. "Those pests are reaching out far. We have the Bog-Burglers, the Uglithugs, Berkserkers, Bashem Oiks, the Murderous, and the Hysterics."

"That's a good force," Stoick said. "As long as we can make it there, we should have enough Vikings to deal with the dragons."

"My thinking exactly," Magadon agreed. "We heard that only dragons can lead you to the Dragons' Nest, so we tested it out. The little devil lead our scout straight there."

Astrid's eyes widened. Who could have told him that? As far as she knew, only she and Hiccup knew about that.

"Do you think this many Vikings can at least do a little damage?" Ruffnut whispered.

Astrid looked around at the huge assembled fleet. Almost a hundred Vikings ships, all coming together to fight dragons and free them from the raids. It was impressive. Then she remembered the enormity of the queen dragon and her _very _thick skin.

"I don't think they can do much," Astrid answered quietly.

"At least we can fight the other dragons, right?" Ruffnut suggested.

"If they even attack," Astrid pointed out. "Last time they just fled."

"Hey," Ruffnut said, punching her lightly on the shoulder. "Try to be a little positive. It won't kill anyone."

Astrid managed a smile and said, "Of course, everything will turn out perfectly. Hiccup will show up on his dragon, defeat the queen dragon. And we'll all go home safely."

"Good," Ruffnut said. "Now say it like you believe it."

Astrid sighed and looked away.

* * *

As soon as they got back to the Wingback Isles Hiccup shoved Astrid's letter into Hall's surprised hands and said, "We leave tomorrow morning."

Hall raised his eyebrows high and unfolded the letter. Hiccup had already memorized what it said. It was a short note and he had stared at the whole way home.

_Dear Hiccup,_

_I'm pretty sure this is you. I've only ever heard of one Night Fury, and you are the first I ever heard of riding a dragon so I'm assuming you're the First._

_I have some bad news for you. Our tribe has decided to join the Meatheads in a joint attack against the Dragon Nest. The Meatheads claim to have a way of finding the Nest and have requested the backing of all the tribes. I have a feeling most tribes will agree to come. You and I both know they won't survive the queen dragon, no matter how many of them there are. I hope there's something you can do, and that this letter finds you in time. Otherwise we'll be looking at the beginning of the end of the Vikings._

_Please, wherever you are, help us._

_Astrid Hofferson_

"I don't know how close they are to the Nest," Hiccup said when Hall looked up. "But we can't take any chances with this. Go tell everyone else."

Without waiting for Hall's reply, Hiccup turned on his heel and hurried toward the forge. Drott had already gone ahead with their supplies and was no doubt stoking up the fires. They had a lot of work to do.

Hiccup and Drott spent the rest of the day and a good portion of the night in the forge while all the dragons rested for their upcoming flight. They checked everyone's gear for faults or breakings, repaired those, and fine tuned Tuffnut's saddle as best they could. As for his armor, they quickly put together a firm leather set but without the intricate decorations and style Hiccup liked to put on them. They simply didn't have enough time. They finished the helmet they had been working on for him, and by then it was time for dinner.

The meal was a silent, serious affair. Hiccup ordered everyone straight to their stone cabins to get as much rest as possible before they left early the next morning. No complained, though no one would be sleeping very well, they all knew.

Not with the possibility of never seeing another evening.

* * *

It was a tricky business, navigating through Helheim's Gate. Ships were continually crashing into the rock columns. A few went down. Others were attacked by dragons so very hard to see in the mist. But they managed. Most of the ships made through in one piece with the Meatheads in the lead. Too soon the Viking ships ran onto the pebbly beach.

Astrid shared a pensive look with Ruffnut as Vikings left and right started to prepare. Ships were anchored, people unloaded, and weapons readied. The eight Viking chiefs gathered privately to discuss the plan of action.

The two girls stayed out of the way; Ruffnut watching the proceedings and Astrid watching the sky.

Hiccup wasn't there.

"This is going to end badly," Astrid said, twisting her hands around her ax handle. "Very badly. A lot of people are going to get hurt. Maybe… maybe I should tell the chief."

"Not going to change anything," Ruffnut said gruffly.

Astrid glanced over at the other girl. "What are you thinking about?"

Ruffnut stared at the spear in her hand and said quietly, "Tuffnut."

Astrid could only nod.

"FORM YOUR RANKS!" a Viking with a particularly loud voice boomed. The call was echoed down the multitude of Vikings.

Astrid and Ruffnut quickly joined the mass of Berkian warriors. Standing on her tip-toes, Astrid saw that the Viking army stretched almost halfway around the island. The ships ringed the shore behind them in a semicircle. Clustered together in what must have been a strategic location sat the catapults, loaded and ready.

The eight chiefs stood out in front of their respective tribes. Magadon, apparently chosen as spoksman, stepped up to deliver your typical, rousing, Viking speech.

"IT'S TIME TO FIGHT! TO END THIS!" he boomed. And that was it... very rousing. "CATAPULTS!"

The catapults were immediately released, slinging enormous boulders straight at the mountain behind the chieftans. No one covered their ears at the loud crash of stone against stone.

Three boulder-sized tunnels were created in the side of the mountain. No dragons came charging out. The chiefs took things into their own hands rushing toward the openings yelling Viking war cries. Then the dragons came. The swirled out of the tunnels, squawking and roaring, but they didn't stay low to the ground. They flew straight up into the sky away from the Vikings. A few were quickly downed by bolas but three seconds later the Vikings' attention was diverted elsewhere.

The mountain trembled. The whole island fell deadly silent before suddenly the air rippled with a deafening roar. Then out came the queen.

It smashed through the side of the mountain with the huge horns on its snout. The Viking mass could only stare.

"Sweet baby Thor," Ruffnut whispered.

Astrid swallowed. The monstrosity was even scarier now that she could see the whole thing.

Viking after Viking attacked the queen's legs with swords and axes, shot at her with bows and bolas, and a few managed to fire the catapults. Those did the most damage, making the queen waver and stumble. But she quickly realized that and put an end to the catapults with on effective swing of her tail.

Pandemonium erupted. The queen stomped and roared. Seeing the Vikings trying to retreat, it released a stream of fire at all the ships in three concise bursts. Then it roared angrily at them. For what seemed like forever there was only chaos.

Astrid and Ruffnut managed to stay together, mostly trying to dodge Vikings and the queen dragon's huge attacks.

"I guess this is it!" Astrid shouted to Ruffnut, and the two had to drop as the queen's tail swung over them.

"Yeah, it was a pleasure causing mayhem with you!" Ruffnut responded.

Astrid grinned, despite the situation, at her friend. "Always!"

Just then, a new sound was heard by all above the screaming, yelling, and roaring; a high-pitched, screaming sound.

"NIGHT FURY!" several Vikings shouted.

"GET DOWN!" more called.

"We're not gonna die!" Astrid screamed ecstatically, throwing a fist in the air with a ridiculous grin across her face.

"YEAH!" Ruffnut shouted.

From the mist of Helheim's Gate nine dragons emerged, flying in too perfect a formation to be natural. On their backs, were the people Astrid knew to be their saviors.

* * *

**So, not too much happening in this chapter, just leading up to The Epic Battle (aka Chapter 8). Next time will be more exciting I promise!**

**And OH MY GOSH OVER 150 FOLLOWERS I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!**

**Okay, got that out of my system. Now for the reviewers :) Extra special love to you all. And, can I get more than fourteen reviews this chapter? *Toothlesseyes* Okay, maybe not this one, not as exciting. But next one? It'll make me write faster! :) :)**

** : Thank you so much :)**

**Fleightfire: A little different than the movie, that's for sure. I hope you aren't expecting me to go easy on anybody though. *winkwink***

**Ramen-luver101: Oh, they'll probably make it...**

**Pokeshadow55: I'm very glad to have you :) And yes, Torch is still a baby, I felt like to have what Tuff and Torch had in the series they'd have to meet him first. They ran into him on the Dragon Islands but the whole Skrill deal popped up so they'll have to go back for him, but they will, don't worry. And you're not the only one anxious about the Red Death :) Several readers and characters are a little worried about it too.**

**TheGallopingCupcake: Phew! I'm guessing that means I should update fast to keep you alive? I envy Tuffnut too. I want a skrill :( Although, I don't envy the hair problems ;) .**

** : Yep, yep. Lotsa colliding :)**

**God of Spirits-Spirit Black: You and me both!**

**EnrichedWhiteBread: As demanded :D Here y'are.**

**CommanderD3RP: Thank you so much :) I'm glad you're enjoying it.**

**faisyah865: My thinking exactly :) . Although, I still have no idea who to ship him with...**

**flame101: Thanks :D**

**RoseJustice: It's just the truth *beamsback***

**Jay1997: Goody :)**

**Guest: Ah, thank you so much! I really appreciate your thoughtful and lengthy review :) It made me smile for days.**


	8. Idiotic Viking Tribes Who Require Saving

**Disclaimer: I do not own HTTYD... yet...**

**Chapter 8**

**Idiotic Viking Tribes who Require Saving Because They Thought They Could Kill a Mountain**

The scene that met them on Dragon Island was a grisly one. The tribes were in panic. Vikings lay bleeding or dead on the ground. All the other dragons flocked loudly in the air right above the Red Death, but they didn't attack. They didn't need to—the Red death was causing more than enough damage on her own.

"Swing around her head in a big circle, Toothless," Hiccup told his dragon, leaning forward close to Toothless's head so the dragon could hear him over the wind. "I want her to see us nice and clear. We need her attention off the Vikings."

Toothless grunted in assent and did as Hiccup asked. Behind them, flying in a perfect V formation flew the rest of the dragon riders. Hall, Lodin, Torfi, and Tofa extended from his left while Tuffnut, Drott, Arni, and Aesa with Hanna trailed him on his right. They all followed loyaly as Hiccup and Toothless led them toward the Red Death, quite possible Their Death as well.

Knowing they had his back, Hiccup focused on the Red Death. He had never actually seen her fully before, only her head on scouting missions, and she looked even more impenetrable now than she ever had before. A few spears and arrows were sticking out of cracks and crevices her skin but most had just bounced off. She had small eyes, so she probably couldn't see very well. Her large nostrils and huge tail seemed to indicate the beast relied more on smell and brute strength. Her ears didn't seem to be anything special, just little holes, but all dragon seemed to have good hearing regardless. None of that seemed like a weakness he could exploit, and he definitely wasn't defeating this dragon by brute strength.

But they needed to try something, so Hiccup lifted his hand and motioned toward the Red Death. The other eight dragons and their riders responded immediately. Flying down the length of the Red Death from tail to snout, just like they had in training drills, they released a barrage of dragon fire at its thick skin.

The Red Death roared and stumbled to the ground at the force of their collective dragon fire. Their moment of triumph was short lived. Lumbering back up to her feet, the Red Death produced a new sound; a strange, vibrating sound, like a thousand pigeons cooing all at once.

All the dragons rider's dragons stumbled a bit in their flight, but they managed to ignore the queen's call. However, the dragons swirling above them did listen. Screeching and roaring, the multitude descended on the dragon riders.

Hiccup had been afraid of this.

Unsheathing his heavy Roman sword, a rough but serviceable weapon, Hiccup shouted, "Ready your weapons! Fight them back! Cutter, move back!"

Hanna and Aesa, unequipped for a fight, with either skill or weapons, flew back toward the fog, stopping right in front of it. The rest retrieved axes, spears, and swords.

Two Monstrous Nightmares were the first dragons to attack Hiccup and Toothless; one red and the other orange. Toothless fired at the red Nightmare first, and the orange took advantage of the moment to fire at Hiccup. But Hiccup anticipated it and already had his silver shield in front of him. The fire splattered harmlessly against the Gronckle iron protection. A few sparks landed on his black armor, but once more to no effect. Toothless quickly downed the orange Nightmare, whirling around to face a Deadly Nadder and a Hideous Zippleback.

The Zippleback took the direct approach, slamming its wide body into Toothless for a midair wrestling match. The spark head snapped at Toothless and the gas head lunged for Hiccup. Blocking the head with his shield, Hiccup stabbed his sword into the gas head's neck. The light went out of the Zipplback's eyes and the dragon dropped like a stone, its second head screeching in agony.

Hiccup didn't have time to dwell on the image, one that would probably haunt his dream later, because he felt a heavy thump on his shoulders, looking back he saw one of the Nadder's spines sticking out of his armor. Toothless whirled around again and they saw the Nadder they had previously forgotten about. The Nadder screeched at them, and Toothless snarled at her. Hiccup couldn't help but notice she was a beautiful dragon, predominantly blue with speckles of yellow and some pink highlighting the colors. But she was beautiful and dangerous. Her pupils were so small, Hiccup wondered that she could see anything much of anything. Screeching at them again, the Nadder opened her jaws and loosed the hottest fire known to dragonkind.

Toothless dove underneath it and swooped up to rake his claws down her underbelly. Hiccup slammed his shield into her skull and the Nadder fell, stunned.

As Toothless spun around again, Hiccup sheathed his sword and pulled a bolt from a loop on the saddle. Shifting his grip on his shield, Hiccup put it in crossbow mode and placed the bolt. He quickly took out a Nightmare barreling toward them at full speed.

Hiccup got a moment to see how well his other riders were faring, which was not well. They looked like they were getting overwhelmed and there were plenty more dragons to fill in for the ones that fell. Hiccup's mind raced as Toothless shot a plasma bolt at a Gronckle. Then he glanced down.

"Cutter!" Hiccup shouted to Hanna and Aesa. "Rally the Vikings!"

Aesa, thank Thor, understood at once. She, Hanna, and Cutter flew low, shouting, "Pick up your weapons, Vikings! Fight!"

Now they just needed the dragons within reach. A few dragons went down under bolas but it wouldn't be enough.

"Fly low!" Hiccup ordered his riders. "Get close to the Vikings! Stay low!"

The effect was immediate. All seven other dragons dove straight down, Hiccup and Toothless following. The flock of queen-controlled dragons pursued them without hesitation.

Hiccup looked over at the Red Death who was roaring at the invaders. They needed to get her alone, without her army of mind-controlled dragons. Otherwise, they weren't getting close.

* * *

Tuffnut thought he did pretty well against the attacking dragons, considering he hadn't fought dragon-back before. That was, until he lost his spear. He jabbed it into the side of a Gronckle and the dragon fell, taking the spear with him. Tuffnut grasped his saddle handles with both gloved hands.

"Uh, Staticzapboom, weaponless here!" Tuffnut informed the Skrill.

Staticzapboom pulled a little away from the fighting, zapping a Zippleback with a lightning bolt as he went. Tuffnut looked up at the storm of angry dragons and then at the queen.

"We need to get to the queen," Tuffnut said aloud. "We can't fight all these dragons."

Static growled in what Tuffnut assumed was agreement. A Nadder flew at them and Static caught the dragon with his claws. He swung it around and flung it away. Off-balanced the Nadder careened into the ranks of Viking warriors below.

Tuffnut looked back at the Red Death again and an idea formed in his head. "Static! Get us to the Red Death! I have an idea!"

Staticzapboom responded immediately, not questioning what idea could possibly be useful against such a huge dragon, nor the fact that Tuffnut of all people had an idea. Tuffnut hung on tight as the Skrill shot through the mass of dragons, dodging fire and ducking under talons.

He circled around behind the Red Death's head to hover in its blind spot and waited for Tuffnut's command.

"Aim for the area right under the head horn things!" Tuffnut shouted. "Fry her brain!"

Staticzapboom shot a thick blast of lightning at the spot indicated, and kept it up for a full five seconds before the Red Death whirled around, screaming in rage. She shot a plume of red fire at them, and Static dropped into a dive to avoid it.

"Right behind the nose horn things!" Tuffnut shouted, gripping his handles even tighter and grinning like he was crazy (he was).

Staticzapboom obeyed without hesitation. The blast hit straight on and he sustained it for ten seconds this time. The Red Death roared in pain, stumbling almost drunkenly.

"Side of the head!" Tuffnut directed.

Static shot another blast, this a little weaker than the last.

_One more blast,_ Tuffnut thought to himself. _Gotta make this one count._

"The eyes this time, Static!" Tuffnut yelled. "Right in the eyes!"

The Skrill gave it all he had. His whole body tensed and he shot a sustained blast at one set of three eyes. The Red Death wailed in agony, shaking her head and groaning.

Twisting around in the saddle, Tuffnut looked back at the previous battle scene. The flock of previously attacking dragons hovered in midair, confused but docile. The dragon riders had flown up again, away from the ground. All fighting between the dragons and Vikings had halted. Tuffnut frowned as he scanned the scene. Where was Hiccup?

"Good work, Tuff."

Tuffnut jumped in surprise and looked up at the Night Fury and the Viking flying above them. Oh, there he was.

"Hopefully you've fried the queen's brain powers for good," Hiccup called down. "But she's not dead yet. Keep everyone out of the way."

"What are you gonna do!?" Tuffnut called out as Hiccup and Toothless flew up and away.

"I have a plan!" Hiccup shouted back. "Just keep everyone away from me and the Red Death."

"You got it, Chief!" Tuffnut called after him. "Let's go, Static."

Static dove back toward the other dragons, roaring at them. Hopefully he was saying, 'get back' in dragonese.

"Everybody fall back!" Tuffnut shouted. "Get out of the way!"

The telltale whistle of a Night Fury grabbed everyone's attention. Toothless was diving straight down toward the Red Death. As he passed he loosed a plasma bolt at the Red Death's side. Then he flew up and dove back down. He did the same to the dragon's other side.

The Red Death toppled over, probably from the combination of Staticzapboom's shocks and Toothless's bolts. Vikings and dragons alike scuttled backward, pressing against the shore line and a few venturing back into the water.

Tuffnut watched Hiccup and Toothless hover for a moment while the Red Death stretched out enormous wings. The edges of the membrane were raggedy but the Red Death didn't seem to mind. She roared and shook herself, climbing to her feet. Toothless screeched to get her attention.

It worked. The Red Death fixed three good eyes on the Night Fury and his Rider and roared at them. Toothless whirled around and flew over to the water and its heavy rock formations. The Red Death pursued, still roaring, and crashed through the rocks like they were nothing. Their audience could only watch open-mouthed as the Night Fury zipped through the maze and the mountainous Red Death barreled after them.

"Okay, Toothless," Tuffnut heard Hiccup say from his place in the air. "Time to disappear."

Dragon and rider shot upward into the ash-darkened clouds above them.

Tuffnut hoped Hiccup's plan was a good one.

* * *

So far so good. The Red Death was following them up into the dark clouds—a Night Fury's home territory. Hiccup was largely making up things as he went along with only one foundation brick to this plan; use the queen's strength and weight against her.

The Red Death stopped when she could no longer see them, flapping harshly and scanning wildly for her quarry with her three functioning eyes, the other set burned and smashed shut.

"How about we weaken those wings, buddy," Hiccup whispered to Toothless. "Maybe we can get her to crash."

Toothless nodded and aimed for the weak membrane of her wings. He shot once and the Red Death roared, spinning around to find them. But Hiccup and Toothless were already on the other side of her, shooting at her other wing. They got a four shots per wing before the Red Death decided she'd had enough.

The queen dragon opened her jaws and spewed out a ribbon of fire in every direction. Toothless ducked out of the way, narrowly avoiding the flames. The duo swooped out of the clouds, Red Death snapping angrily on their heels.

With her huge snout the Red Death slammed into Hiccup and Toothless. The impact sent Hiccup flying off and Toothless flailing in the air. His helmet went sailing in an entirely different direction. Hiccup screamed as he was separated from his dragon. The safety straps had snapped clean off at the hit.

Hiccup flailed around. He had experienced free-falling, but usually with Toothless right next to him. Hiccup managed to turn over, just in time to see the Red Death position herself beneath him and open her jaws.

Hiccup fell straight down into the dragon's maw.

* * *

It looked like a thunderstorm without rain to Tuffnut. The Red Death's roars were like thunder and Toothless's blasts like lightning. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself really worked there. When the Red Death knocked Hiccup and Toothless apart, Static and Tuffnut immediately flew to help, but they weren't nearly quick enough. The Red Death swallowed Hiccup before they were within half a mile.

For a moment Tuffnut could only stare. But then he heard Toothless's scream and he urged Staticzapboom to go faster.

"Come on, Static, we need to catch Toothless!"

Static sped up and before Toothless had fallen more than a hundred yards Static swooped in and locked claws with the other dragon. The load instantly slowed Static down, but the Skrill pumped his wings with harsh determination.

The Red Death roared in triumph this time.

Static flew around behind the Red Death, and the queen took her sweet time twisting around to see them.

Tuffnut gripped a dagger Drott had handed him and said, "Static, steady a bit. Lemme try to hit this thing."

Even though he'd never been perfect at aiming things, Tuffnut was pretty good at hitting things when he wanted to destroy something. Static leveled out as much as he could, but he still had to flap hard to keep the combined weight of himself, a human, _and_ a Night Fury in the air. Tuffnut took careful aim and threw. He didn't hit the eye dead center, but he still hit it and that's what counted.

The Red Death screamed in rage and pain as it lost the use of yet another eye to the Viking-Skrill team.

"Four down!" Tuffnut crowed. "Only two eyes left!"

Toothless growled something up at Tuffnut and Static. The Skrill responded back with a snort, and Tuffnut got the feeling the Night Fury had suggested something and the Skrill had asked him if he was crazy. The two dragons exchanged harried grunts and growls that made Tuffnut wish he could speak dragonese.

"Uh, wanna let me in on the conversation, guys?" Tuffnut asked.

Static gave a final growl and turned to the Red Death, who seemed to be slowly recovering. She fixed two red angry eyes on the trio. Static started screeching angrily at the queen dragon.

"Hey, UGLY!" Tuffnut said, joining in. "We're gonna destroy you! Not sure how, but these awesome dragons have a brilliant plan! And you are going to pay for eating Hiccup!"

The Night Fury and the Skrill roared again, and Static flew straight at the Red Death. She opened her huge jaws, presumably to breath fire at them, but never got the chance. Static snapped his wings out, harshly stopping their forward motion, and Tuffnut smashed against the Skrill's back. At the same moment, Static released Toothless.

The Night Fury used the momentum with a little help from his wings and flew straight into the Red Death's open mouth.

The Red Death's eyes widened in surprise, and so did Tuffnut's.

"THAT was your brilliant plan?!"

* * *

Hiccup thought this was the end. There was no way in Midgard he was getting out of dragon's belly. That may well be true, but Hiccup hadn't made it all the way to the dragon's belly yet. Instead his armor caught on a spear.

Yes, a spear. His armor didn't stay stuck very long, but Hiccup managed to twist around and grab the spear with two hands. It was a Viking spear, obviously. Some Viking must have managed a lucky shot into the Red Death's mouth. Though, how it lodged in the dragon's throat so deeply was a mystery to Hiccup.

Hiccup's examination was cut short as the Red Death roared. The sound mocked him in its smug triumph as it blasted up the dragon's throat, hitting him like a stormy gale, complete with saliva rain. Hiccup gripped the spear tighter and squeezed his eyes shut, praying to Odin that the huge dragon wouldn't breath fire. His armor might protect his body—maybe—but without his helmet he was definitely going to die.

Hiccup snorted. Who was he kidding? Of course he was going to die. He was in a dragon's throat, for crying out loud! Then something caught his eye. Large holes decorated the sides of the dragon's throat. As Hiccup watched sparks danced around in the holes, and everything clicked. The gas came up from the dragon's belly and these spark holes ignited it. It must be one of these holes the spear had lodged into thus saving his life.

However, he had no time to ponder this further. The Red Death screamed. Not roared, screamed. He'd heard it when Tuffnut fired on her the first time, but that was from the outside. This time, the sound nearly split his ear drums. It rattled his bones and nearly blasted him off the spear. Hiccup hung on for dear life. When the sound finally died down, Hiccup opened his eyes and frantically searched for a way to help, some way to injure the Red Death. If he was going to go down, the Red Death was coming with him.

Looking up, Hiccup tried to see through the slits in the Red Death's teeth. He heard angry screeching, but it wasn't the Red Death. It came from two very familiar dragons; a Skrill and Night Fury.

"Toothless!" Hiccup shouted, a grin forming on his face.

"Hey, UGLY! We're gonna destroy you! Not sure how, but these awesome dragons have a brilliant plan! And you are going to pay for eating Hiccup!"

That was definitely Tuffnut. It was nice to know he was going to be avenged.

The holes in the Red Death's throat started sparking even more and Hiccup could hear the deep rumbling of the gas building up in its stomach. He squeezed his eyes shut again. He was out of time. _Death by fire_, Hiccup thought. _Dad always thought I'd be eaten by a dragon. This probably isn't what he had in mind._

But the fire didn't come. Only a curious rumble from the Red Death's throat. Hiccup's eyes snapped open and he saw the last thing he expected.

Toothless darted through the dragon's jaws and crashed into the side of the Red Death's throat. He made a squelching sound as he landed, digging his talons into the soft pink skin. That elicited another roar of pain from the Red Death.

_"Toothless!"_ Hiccup squeaked in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Toothless inched over to him and growled, _Stupid Viking. I'm here for you!_

"Whatever," Hiccup said, shifting his grip on the spear. "We'll talk about your sanity later. Let's get out of here, bud."

Toothless warbled in agreement and positioned himself under the Viking. Hiccup had to swing a little so the he could actually land on Toothless since that dragon wasn't exactly beneath him. And it would be very bad if he missed. With one more good swing Hiccup let go of the spear and fell onto Toothless. He almost slipped off but he managed to grab the handles and click his feet into the pedals.

Then he saw the spark holes light up and heard the gas build again. He looked up. The Red Death's mouth was closed.

"Uh oh," Hiccup breathed.

The Red Death could just breath fire right now, not open her mouth, and it was bye-bye Midgard, hello Valhalla (he hoped, it would be kind of depressing if he died a heroic death in battle and went to Helheim).

Toothless rumbled, _What now?_

Hiccup looked around frantically. What now!? Good question. Then his eyes alighted upon the spear that had saved his life. Reaching out, Hiccup wrenched the spear as harshly as he could out of the spark hole. He dragged it across the soft, delicate skin to create a deep, bloody gash.

It worked. The Red Death screamed in pain again, causing her mouth to open (and Hiccup's eardrums to ring). Toothless wasted no time. He leaped forward and darted out of the Red Death's mouth, Hiccup clinging to the saddle with one hand and his knees. With the safety straps snapped he had to hold on tight. He gripped the lifesaving spear in the other hand, but as soon as they were free he dropped it in favor of holding on to the saddle.

Fire followed after them from the Red Death's mouth. Toothless tried to dodge but the fire still caught the prosthetic tail fin.

Hiccup twisted around to see the leather catch ablaze. "Okay, time's up. Dive, Toothless! Dive!"

Toothless did dive. He went straight down, and the Red Death followed. Her roar was so full of anger, hatred, and rage that it sent a chill down Hiccup's spine. He heard the gas building up again.

"Hold on, Toothless," Hiccup said. "Just a little bit longer, just a little bit longer."

The ground was fast approaching. Hiccup glanced back one last time. Green gas completely filled the Red Death's jaws, waiting to be lit by her spark holes.

"NOW, TOOTHLESS!" Hiccup shouted.

Toothless twisted around and shot one final bolt into the Red Death's mouth and the gas caught in her own throat. He righted himself quickly and then snapped his wings open. The duo narrowly missed getting hit by the queen dragon's head. The Red Death opened her own wings to stall her fall, but the wings were weak from misuse. Coupled with Toothless's blasts and the weight of the Red Death's body, the wings didn't stand a chance. They shredded to pieces and the Red Death crashed into the ground.

Toothless focused completely on getting away. The huge fireball from the Red Death's impact nipped at their heels as Toothless weaved in and out of the Red Death's spines. The prosthetic tail fin wasn't responding though. The rope keeping the tail fin attached burned away, and Hiccup lost control.

Hiccup faced front again in time to see the huge bulbous tail loom in front of them. Toothless couldn't get out of the way.

"No, NO!"

Toothless slammed into the tail and, without safety straps, Hiccup was knocked free for the second time. Then he blacked out, and didn't awake for a long time.

* * *

**EDIT: I removed Endeavor from this chapter for the purposes of the sequel, in case anybody rereading (I wish) is confused.**

**A/N: So, I asked for more than 14 reviews in the last chapter and BOOM! I got 19. I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH! And it made me so happy I wrote this chapter in two sittings(I had to take a break to catch my breath). I also felt kinda bad leaving you all on such a cliffie. I pulled out all my epic battle music and it made my type faster and so I could get this done in time to post tonight. I think I actually raised my blood pressure doing that, it was that intense :P . I still haven't settled down from that.**

**Anyway, did I already tell you guys this was gonna be a weird mix of the book 'verse and the movie 'verse? Cuz it is, with the shield from the show and the fire holes from the books and stuff like that.**

**Much love, guys. Thank you so much for your support!**

**Guest: Thank you :)**

**Shielded Myth: I'm so happy you're getting into it and experiencing the story with the characters. That's always the most fun to read and I'm so happy to have given it to you!**

**NightsAnger: You got it, no killing Hiccup or Toothless ever. Definitely not in this story I assure you. No plans for that. *Mumbles* bettergoscrapthatonestoryidea…**

**ramen-luver101: Yep, she went down. Thare she blows!**

**frytrix: Thanks :) I hope you continue to be interested.**

**God of Spirits-Spirit Black: One epic battled delivered.**

**Toskimi: I have pretty sporadic updating thanks to Real Life (you know, that annoying period of time between ****reading ****and ****writing ****sessions?). But I try not to leave anyone on cliffhangers too long.**

**61394: Yep, with a little Tuff vs Red Death thrown in. Think it'll do?**

**hiccupfan54: Thank you bunches :)**

**hiccupfan54: Was this soon enough?**

**TheGallopingCupcake: Epic enough for you? (made perfect sense ;) )**

**NTYTekHTTYDFan: Haha, Boar headed stubborn meatheads :) I like it. Awesome enough for you?**

**flame101: Why, of course he does.**

**faisyah865: *runs away screaming* I'M SORRY! ! ! ! *hopefully* Is this chapter enough of a peace offering?**

**RoseJustice: I sorry *tries to look guilty and looks at shoes* I will try to be better but teasing is in my blood (blame my dad). Hopefully this cliffhanger wasn't too bad?**

**CanIHaveAHug: Sorry! It was hard to resist. But at least I updated fast, right? Am I forgiven? (BTW, I love your username)**

**silverray989: At least you weren't hanging for too long, right? Yes, the Vikings don't generally tend to be very smart. It's all in the chapter title, darlin' ;) .**

**sierra:Was this s**oon enough? I did feel bad about that last cliffie, it was a whopper. Gotta love the cliffhangers, right?****


	9. Viking Idiots and Tuff

**Disclaimer: Anyone else think these are just a little bit boring? No? Fine, get it over with... idonotownhttyd.**

**Chapter 9**

**The Vikings Continue to be Idiots and Tuff Will Never Go Undercover**

When the dragon riders arrived, Astrid didn't think one Viking in the whole host of them knew what to think. Everyone could only stand stock still as the dragon riders engaged the queen and then the dragons she commanded. Dealing with the unknown was not one of the Viking strengths. Give them something to kill and you had the most efficient humans alive. Put them in a situation they never would have even dreamed of, and you had the most useless humans, dead _or_ alive. So when the dragon riders swooped down to get the Vikings to help them fight off the horde of dragons, they leaped on the chance.

But then the queen's control was broken by the Skrill and his rider, and they were left on the sidelines again as Hiccup and Toothless took on the queen dragon. Astrid thought he was insane. How could he kill such a monstrous dragon? When he fell into the dragon's mouth, Astrid was terrified. Her eyes had stung and she had truly believed that it was the end. Not so. Once more, the Skrill and his rider saved the day, catching Toothless and distracting the queen.

When Hiccup and Toothless finished the job, Astrid couldn't believe it. The plan had Hiccup's name written all over it. No one but him could have thought of such a reckless yet brilliant plan. Nor could anyone other than Hiccup have pulled it off.

When Hiccup and Toothless didn't reappear after the explosion, Astrid wouldn't believe it. She waited until the fire had dissipated and plunged into the ash cloud. She didn't dare call his name for fear of revealing his identity, even though she wanted nothing more than to shout his name at the top of her lungs.

Above her Astrid heard voices shouting, "Spread out! They have to be in there somewhere!"

The sound of wing beats accompanied the command, and Astrid focused her attention on scouring the ground. The dragon riders might not be able to see the pair from the air since Toothless was so dark.

Coughing harshly, Astrid stumbled forward. She squinted through the haze, searching for any sign of Hiccup and Toothless. The need to shout his name arose again, to see if he might be able to call back, but Astrid repressed the urge. A few minutes through, she had still found nothing. So she broke into a run. They had to be alive. They just had to.

Finally, something irregular caught Astrid's eye in the gray landscape. She skidded to a halt and her breath caught in her throat. She almost shouted his name again, but checked her volume.

"Hiccup," she breathed, the name sounding strangled in her throat. Shaking herself, Astrid surged forward again. As she headed toward the black lump she knew was Toothless, a stocky dark blue Nadder slammed into the ground right in front of her, separating her from Toothless. Unable to stop fast enough, Astrid slammed harshly into the Nadder's leg. She growled at the block in front of her, but she decided not to pull out her axe.

One of the masked dragon riders leaped off the Nadder's back right next to her and grabbed her arm. "Stop! Who—"

The dragon rider didn't get any farther because Astrid slammed her knee in his stomach and used his imbalance to flip him over her shoulder and into the dirt. The Nadder squawked indignantly at her, and Astrid bolted past it. In only a few second she reached Toothless.

Crashing to her knees next to the Night Fury, Astrid placed her hands on Toothless's head. Was he dead? "Oh, Toothless."

Opening dull green eyes, Toothless looked up at her and moaned quietly. He seemed fine enough, not in any danger. But where was Hiccup? Astrid ran her eyes down Toothless's back and saw only the empty, ruined saddle. Casting her eyes around them, Astrid saw no other body. Shoulders slumping, she looked back at Toothless.

"He's gone…" Astrid whispered brokenly.

The Night Fury blinked slowly at her then nudged her knees, moaning a little sound she could have sworn was 'No.'

"What is it, Toothless?" Astrid asked softly, hope tentatively

Toothless turned his drowsy green eyes down his belly and carefully unfolded his wings. Astrid looked too, and gasped at what she saw.

"Hiccup!" Astrid exclaimed, scrambling over Toothless's wing to where Hiccup lay embraced securely against the dragon. She pulled him gently away from Toothless and searched him for signs of life. He remained completely limp in her arms, and Astrid's heart stuttered in fear. He couldn't be. Pressing her ear against Hiccup's chest, Astrid held her breath and listened.

Thump… Thump… Thump…

"He's alive," Astrid choked, gasping in a breath and lifting her head to look at Hiccup's lax face. "You're alive!"

"You must be Astrid," a voice guessed, interrupting Astrid's revelation.

Astrid tensed and looked over her shoulder. It was the dragon rider, holding his stomach and standing a few feet behind her. She didn't bother to ask how he knew (she'd demand answers later), instead just nodding. As she turned back to Hiccup, she scanned his body for injury. He'd fought a huge dragon, almost been swallowed, and survived an explosion; she doubted he'd come away completely unscathed.

She was right, but she wasn't quite expecting the serious injury she saw. His boot was torn, and his foot badly mangled, twisted and bleeding heavily.

"He's not going to be able to keep that," she said, inwardly marveling at how calm she sounded.

The dragon rider followed her line of sight and he breathed, "Oh _Odin_, that's going to cause problems."

Then he straightened up and turned to his Nadder. "Brighteyes, call the others."

The Nadder, Brighteyes, squawked what must have been 'yes' and whistled, long and shrill. Within a minute the other dragon riders arrived. Astrid kept Hiccup tight in her grasp as she watched them land.

First came another Nadder and a Gronkle, quickly followed by two Nightmares, and then a Timberjack. Lastly, the Skrill landed, closer to her than anyone else, and too close for comfort.

Brighteye's dragon rider immediately took command of the situation. "All of you, make a circle around them. I don't know how the Vikings are going to react, but we can't just fly away if things get messy."

One of the two girls riding the Timberjack slid off the dragon and trotted over. A green Terrible Terror sat on her shoulder and an orange was wrapped around her slim waist.

"If worst comes to worst," the girl said. "Cutter can carry Toothless a little ways."

Brighteyes' rider nodded and said, "See what you can do. I'm going to talk to them."

The girl nodded and approached Astrid. She knelt down in front of her and asked, "And who are you?"

Her tone was sharp and stern, but not openly hostile. Astrid immediately liked her.

"Astrid."

The other girl nodded. "Of course, Hiccup spoke of you." She pulled off her helmet and smiled, "I'm Aesa."

Aesa had kind brown eyes and soft brown hair. Her face was nothing striking, but pretty in her own way. Right at the start, she didn't look like a warrior.

"Good to meet you, Aesa," Astrid replied. "Do you have any healing experience?"

"Only some," Aesa said honestly. "But I've picked up a few things hanging around with this lot. I'll do my best."

"Who are you?" a gruff Viking man's voice demanded from a distance. From what Astrid could tell the sound came from over where the other dragon riders had created their protective circle.

"Do your best then," Astrid said, gently unwrapping her arms from around Hiccup and setting him on the ground. Standing up, Astrid pulled her axe off her back and took a step away. She would be no good here, as much as she wanted to stay, but she could be of use somewhere else.

"Toothless," Astrid said, turning to the Night Fury.

Toothless looked up at her, looking more alert than he had a moment ago. He also looked more worried.

"Raise your wing up," she told him. "Block the Viking's view of Hiccup. We'll protect the both of you."

Toothless obligingly raised his free wing, creating a sort of tent that shielded Hiccup and Aesa from view. Astrid hefted her axe, nodded at Aesa, and marched toward the Vikings and the dragon riders.

By the time Astrid reached the scene Vikings were already starting to murmur uneasily. The eight chiefs were all facing Brighteyes' rider, looking angry. Astrid knew why. They hated being uncertain. She hung back a little and just listened for a moment. No one noticed her, too focused on the dragons and their riders.

"The dragons were under the control of the big one," the Brighteyes' rider was explaining slowly. "Now that she's gone, you don't have anything to worry about."

"Nothing at all?" Stoick asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," the dragon rider affirmed. "The raids will stop."

The murmurings among the crowd instantly doubled. No one believed that.

"Lies!" one of the chiefs, Norbert the Nutjob, Chief of the Hysterics, accused.

"We should do what we came to do." This time it was Dagur the Deranged, Chief of the Berserkers. "Kill all the dragons!"

Astrid glared at the smirking young chief.

Another chief, this one Astrid didn't know, instantly jumped in. "He's right! There's no guarantee they won't keep stealing! We need to end this now, while we still have the chance!"

"And all these dragon riders too!" added Dagur, sounding a bit gleeful. "We can't trust them!"

Astrid decided she was done listening and stepped forward. She immediately caught Stoick's attention.

"Astrid? What are you doing?" her chief questioned, a dangerous edge to his voice.

The deadly tone of his voice cut through any more 'suggestions' and, predictably, everyone at once became interested in what was going on.

Resting her axe casually against her shoulder, Astrid replied steadily. "Helping the people who saved our lives, Chief. Since without them, particularly H—The First, we would never have defeated that dragon, and would all be dead."

A heavy, tense silence followed her words. Everyone seemed a bit unsure, but a few still looked like they wanted to protest again. In that silence Ruffnut, Odin bless her, shoved through the crowd holding two spears, one her own and another standard Viking spear, and a black helmet tucked under her arm.

"Hey," she said nonchalantly, marching up to them. "Guy who saved our lives dropped his helmet and his spear."

"He doesn't have a spear," said a hulking dragon rider with a Gronckle to Astrid's right.

"Well, apparently he did," Ruffnut said, rolling her eyes like he was an idiot. "Because it fell out of the sky with his helmet _when he was saving our lives_."

She emphasized the last phrase with a pointed look into the crowd. Some people looked down at their boots while others glared at her. Here and there, though, a Viking nodded at her.

"The dragons won't attack," said the dragon rider firmly. "Not unless you provoke them."

Several people opened their mouths to protest that, but Astrid cut in first.

"Look," Astrid began, raising her voice so that it carried to as many Vikings as possible. "Many of you are unsure about this, but we cannot kill these people. It would be dishonorable to every man here if we were to kill the very people who just saved all our lives. We can discuss what will happen about the dragons later, but we have more important issues. The First was injured in his battle with the queen dragon, and needs a healer."

"You make a good point, lass," Magadon the Murderous agreed. "But we have no way of leaving. The ships have all been burnt."

A stout Viking burst out of the crowd and approached the eight chiefs and the dragon riders. "Not all the ships were burnt, Chiefs. Twelve ships, ones in the back, managed to escape the fire mostly unharmed."

"Then we should start getting people to Berk," Stoick spoke up. "It's the closest, and many others also need a healer."

"Some can ride dragons," piped up another dragon rider, this one petite with a red Changewing.

"What!?" several people shouted at once, and every Viking warrior looked at her with fearful and incredulous expressions.

"Not everyone," the petite girl said, placating. "Just whoever feels comfortable."

The murmurings started up again, but Astrid turned away, satisfied she didn't need to swing her axe at anybody. She walked up to Brighteyes' rider, since he seemed to be in charge while Hiccup was down.

"Dragon would be the fastest way to get him back to Berk, and he needs a healer fast," Astrid told him. "Toothless will have to take the boats."

Brighteyes' rider (Astrid was getting really tired of calling him that) nodded. "The Skrill is our fastest available dragon, but we'll have to talk to his rider."

"Of course, where is he?" Astrid asked.

The dragon rider pointed back towards Toothless. "Already ahead of you, it would seem."

The Skrill was crouched next to Toothless, grunting and growling in what seemed to be a conversation with the Night Fury. The rider of the Skrill was talking to Aesa, as far as Astrid could tell.

Good, Astrid thought, that meant things were underway. Speed was a necessity right now. Astrid approached them and rounded the two dragons. She wondered how fast the Skrill could fly. And how much weight could he take before he started to slow down?

She walked over to Ruffnut and took Hiccup's helmet from her.

"Nice speech," Ruffnut commented with a grin.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "It was hardly a speech, but thank you."

"What now?" Ruffnut asked, gripping a spear in each hand.

"We'll take care of Hiccup first," Astrid replied. "And then I think all Vikings are going to have to change their lifestyles a little."

Ruffnut grinned. "I want a dragon!"

Astrid laughed. "We'll get to that, but first things first."

Ruffnut nodded and flapped her hand at Astrid in a shooing motion. "Of course, of course. Go get your boyfriend to a healer. I'll think about the awesomest dragons to have."

Astrid groaned and mumbled, "He's not my boyfriend. Not even close."

Ruffnut grinned and Astrid didn't need ears to hear the 'you just keep telling yourself that' hanging in the air.

Huffing, Astrid turned and stomped back toward Hiccup and Toothless.

The Skrill's rider looked up when she walked over, and Astrid couldn't help but think there was something familiar in the way he hunched his shoulders. Shaking the thought off, Astrid focused.

"We're taking him to Berk," Astrid told him and Aesa, looking down at Hiccup's lax face. "It's the closest. The ships will take Toothless but Hiccup needs to get to the healer faster."

"He does," Aesa affirmed, holding up two broken Nadder spines for her to see. "The tips of these went right through his armor and pierced him."

"And Nadder spines are poisonous," Astrid stated, her stomach clenching. "He needs the healer _now_."

"You take him on Staticzapboom," the Skrill rider said, pointing to his dragon. "He'll fly faster with just two."

Astrid's eyebrows shot up and she turned to the Skrill rider. "You're letting me take him without you? You trust me with your dragon?"

Even with the crude black helmet covering his face, Astrid could see his eyes rolling by the tone of his voice. There was something eerily familiar about him.

"You think I'm crazy? I'm not getting between you and him," the Skrill rider jabbed his thumb toward Hiccup. "You're a bit possessive in case you hadn't noticed."

Astrid's mind reeled. She knew that voice. The inflection, the tone, everything. And he was so familiar with her, despite this supposedly being the first time they had spoken. But it couldn't be…

"Tuffnut?" she choked out, hardly believing it. She half expected him to be confused and ask who Tuffnut was. But no.

"You bet your axe I am," Tuffnut said casually. "Now don't you get cuddly with my dragon, Astrid. He's still mine."

Astrid's mind struggled to wrap her mind around Tuffnut being a dragon rider, but she decided to deal with it later. Shifting Hiccup's helmet under her arm, she turned to the Skrill, Staticzapboom, if Astrid heard correctly. She now realized that only Tuffnut would name a dragon that.

Static (Astrid was _not_ calling it Staticzapboom) narrowed his eyes at her and looked her up and down. Toothless warbled something to Static and the Skrill nodded at the Night Fury. He looked back up at here and snorted. Astrid took that as approval.

"Go easy on me," Astrid told the dragon, stepping up to his side. "I've never done this by myself before."

"You better hold on tight then," Aesa chimed in. "You need to get to Berk as fast as possible."

Astrid nodded in understanding and put Hiccup's helmet in a bag attached to Static's saddle. Aesa lent Astrid her riding harness, and Astrid clambered up onto the Skrill's back. The bulky Gronckle rider came over and picked up Hiccup, setting him in front of her. Astrid kept a tight grip on both Hiccup and the saddle bars.

"As fast as you can," Tuffnut told Static, stepping back. "Be nice. We'll catch up soon."

The Skrill chuffed, nudged Tuffnut's shoulder, and sprang forward into the air.

* * *

As soon as it was determined that The First—Hiccup—would go to Berk, Astrid went over to the Night Fury and started talking to the dragon riders. Ruffnut wondered if she knew how obvious she was being with her concern. Shrugging it off, Ruffnut looked at the second spear in her hand. Would Hiccup want it back? Ruffnut had no idea, but figured she had better hold on to it. Looking over at the group of dragons and riders, Ruffnut had a hard time believing this was all Hiccup's doing. Then again, he had always been crazy. Ruffnut liked that.

She watched idly as Vikings started milling about, taking care of the aftermath of the battle while keeping a wary eye on the dragon riders and their dragons. Astrid got onto the Skrill's back (Ruffnut would admit to being slightly jealous. Astrid had already ridden one of the most feared dragons in the history of the raids, and now she got to ride another rare and dangerous dragon. Sometimes life just wasn't fair). With Hiccup in front of her, Astrid flew off on the Skrill back to Berk.

A few people watched, including Ruffnut until they were out of sight, lost in the fog, then went back to caring for the injured and loading up the remaining functional ships. But Ruffnut was more interested in the dragon riders. A girl with two Terrible Terrors went around, searching each rider for injuries while each rider in turn checked their own dragons. Since the Skrill had already left, his rider checked over the Night Fury.

Ruffnut frowned as she tried to remember if Astrid had told her the name of Hiccup's dragon. Unable to recall, Ruffnut simply shrugged. She could always ask. Moseying over to the group of dragon riders, Ruffnut heard the Skrill rider speaking to the Night Fury.

"... a while before you can get back in the air, Toothless," he was saying as he removed the mangled ruined harness from the dragon.

Ruffnut's jaw dropped. "Toothless?! His name is Toothless?"

The Skrill rider startled badly, dropping the harness and nearly falling over, despite the fact that he was sitting down. "Oh! Erm, uh, hi, uh, yeah... um, Toothless... that's his name, uh, err..."

Ruffnut's eyebrows climbed as she listened to the dragon riders stumbling. It reminded her of something, or someone, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

The Skrill rider was saved from saying anything else when Chief Stoick came over.

"Ruffnut, where did Astrid go?" the Chief asked.

"Oh, she took Hi—er, First to Berk on the Skrill," Ruffnut explained. "Dragons are faster and all that."

Stoick narrowed his eyes. "And why was _she_ the one to go?"

Ruffnut opened her mouth but couldn't think of a decent answer. She didn't think 'she has a crush on him' or 'it's actually Hiccup' was going to fly nicely with the chief. Thankfully, one f the other dragon riders stepped in.

"We needed someone your healer knows to explain the situation," said the girl with the two Terrors. "And Astrid volunteered. She's also small and light, so she could get back to Berk the fastest."

Stoick didn't look happy about that, but he accepted it with a nod. "We're about to leave then, we need to get the wounded back to Berk as soon as possible."

"Of course," spoke the dragon rider with a huge blue Nadder.

The chief left and the dragon rider turned to the others. "Flire, Scorch, you follow above. Static, take Toothless to the ships. Everyone else, we're staying here to settle everything with the wild dragons."

Everyone nodded in confirmation.

Ruffnut frowned. Why did Toothless (she still didn't get his name) need to take the ships? Was he injured or just tired?

"Can you stand up, Toothless?" The Skrill's rider asked, and Ruffnut felt that nagging sensation again. Where had she met him before?

The Night Fury grunted and clambered shakily to his feet. Ruffnut decided the dragon was simply in no state to fly, that much was obvious. The two started following Stoick back toward the ships at a sedate pace, the Night Fury's wings drooping a little. Ruffnut fell in step next to them and decided to make conversation.

"So," She began amicably. "You're name is Static?"

The Skrill rider shook his head and mumbled, "Dragon's name."

Frowning, Ruffnut shifted her grip on the two spears. "Why do you call each other by your dragon's names? Afraid of people finding out who you are?"

The dragon rider nodded wordlessly, shoulders tense and body rigid.

Ruffnut immediately became annoyed with his silence and showed that quite bluntly. "What's wrong with you? don't socialize much?"

"Um, erm, well," he began stumbling again.

Ruffnut rolled her eyes and waited for him to find something to say. Why on Midgard was he so nervous? She gritted her teeth. And _where_ had she heard his voice before?!

"I, um, well, er, you see, we just…" he continued, obviously at a loss.

Ruffnut snorted, unimpressed. She was surprised to find her snort echoed by the dragon. She glanced over at Toothless to see an unmistakable _can you believe this guy?_ look in his eyes. That was weird. But Ruffnut decided not to be rude and ignore the dragon. She shook her head exasperated back at the dragon.

"Don't, I mean, I'm not, we're not," he blustered. "Ruff – "

Ruffnut startled. "How do you know my name?!"

"Oops…"

Ruffnut finally recognized that voice, and everything fell into place.

"Tuffnut!" she squeaked.

"Why does everyone figure it out so fast?" Tuffnut grumbled.

Ruffnut swung her spear and the heavy point slammed into the side of her twin's helmet (he was too covered in armor to just be punched). He staggered into Toothless, helmet ringing. "OW!"

"Because you're an idiot," Ruffnut said in answer to his previous questioned.

Tuffnut shook his head, probably to clear the ringing. "Thanks for the love, sis."

"You deserved it," Ruffnut sniffed. "For going off and joining the dragon riders _without me._"

"Sorry," Tuffnut mumbled. "Glad to see you too."

Ruffnut gave him the silent treatment the rest of the way back to the boats. When they boarded everyone steered clear of the Night Fury except Ruffnut. Everyone else moved as far away from Toothless as possible as he plopped down on the stern, looking exhausted. Ruffnut followed them, still not saying anything to Tuffnut. The whole journey was spent on silence. The whole fleet of remaining ships were eerily quiet on the journey back to Berk, aside from a few whispered and brief conversations.

Once they made it out of the fog, Ruffnut looked up and saw a red Nadder flying above them, never getting very far ahead of the ships. Tuffnut didn't try to talk to her the whole way either. It took all of Ruffnut's willpower not to talk to him though. It was just so _boring_. And the voyage took the whole day. But she managed. She was learning form Astrid.

They reached Berk later at night, the stars twinkling above and the moon lighting their way. Tuffnut and Toothless wanted to go straight to the healer's hut and Ruffnut went with them under the guise of showing them where it was.

When they reached the door they all stopped, and Ruffnut teetered on the edge of ending the silent treatment.

"Sooo…." Tuffnut began uncertainly.

On impulse Ruffnut lunged forward and hugged him tightly.

Tuffnut tensed in surprise but hugged her back after a moment of hesitation.

"I still haven't forgiven you," Ruffnut said.

"Okay," Tuffnut said.

"You're a horrible person."

"I know."

"Good." Ruffnut released him. "You're in serious trouble."

"Sounds fun," Tuffnut replied easily.

Ruffnut smirked and shoved him hard in the shoulders. Tuffnut hit the ground hard as his sister walked away without another word.

"Girls are weird, Toothless," she heard him say to the dragon. "Even ones you've known forever."

A thought occurred to Ruffnut and she couldn't resist. She whirled around and threw Hiccup's spear, burying the tip half a foot away from where Tuffnut was sitting on the ground. He jumped nearly a foot in the air.

"That's Hiccup's spear," Ruffnut said with sweet innocence. "Almost forgot."

A satisfied grin on her face, Ruffnut turned away and strode all the way home.

Everything was going to be fine… right after she gave her brother the beating of his life. And maybe a good tongue lashing too. She had picked up a few things from Astrid, after all, and now was definitely time to use them.

* * *

To say the Skrill had cut the travelling time in half would be a gross understatement. Whereas the journey by ship would've taken at least a day, if not more, Static made it in just a few hours. Even so, those hours seemed to stretch forever to Astrid.

Hiccup stayed completely limp and almost completely lifeless in her arms the entire ride. Occasionally, he would groan or grimace, but other than that he was entirely still. Astrid hated it. She kept muttering to him and mostly herself the whole way.

"We'll get there soon. Everything will be alright. Things will work out."

Berk couldn't come into sight soon enough. Thankfully, the Nadder's poison hadn't seemed to take much affect yet.

When they finally reached Berk, Astrid tapped the Skrill's shoulder, feeling a jolt of electricity spike up her arm as she did so.

"Can you glide for a minute?" she requested.

Static grunted in assent and extended his wings to cut gently through the air. Astrid shifted around and pulled Hiccup's helmet out of the saddlebag. It was still light out, though evening was approaching, and it wouldn't do to have people recognizing him before he was ready. She pushed the helmet, somewhat awkwardly, over his head and took a deep breath.

"Okay, Static, you can land now," Astrid told him, finding it a strange experience to be conversing with a dragon. "See that long, thin building a little higher on the hill than the others? That's where we need to go."

Static obligingly descended toward the healer's hut, slow and easy. Below them Astrid heard a few shouts of surprise and fear but no one attacked them. She didn't know if they could see her or if they were just shocked into paralysis by the sight of Skrill. Either that, or just a lone dragon in the middle of the day confused them. In any case, they had an easy, gentle landing.

The few warriors that had been left to defend the village were there in less than a minute, weapons drawn.

"Astrid?" asked one of the approaching warriors, Shrewdeye, surprise in his voice. "What are ye doin' on that dragon?"

"I'll explain everything in a minute," Astrid promised. "He won't hurt anyone. But I need your help first. He needs a healer."

Though he was a little wary, Shrewdeye nodded to the other warriors to lower their weapons and put his away. He came up and took Hiccup from off that dragon, holding him like a child.

Astrid followed immediately sliding of the Skrill and onto solid ground. She wobbled for a moment and had to get her equilibrium back. Long flights when she was unused to flying were annoying.

"Tell the healer it's Nadder poison, his foot, and don't take off his mask," Astrid said firmly, gripping Static's saddle for balance. She wanted to tell the healer herself, but figured it would be a bad idea to leave a dragon alone with antsy Vikings.

Shrewdeye nodded and carried Hiccup quickly into the healer's hut. Astrid waited tensely for him to reappear, mentally thanking the dragon for staying still and not making any trouble.

A few minutes later Shrewdeye reappeared.

"Now tell us what happened," Shrewdeye ordered.

Astrid nodded and began to tell them all that had happened.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry, guys, I meant to get this to you sooner but I had a no electronics camp thing and then I went to visit my grandparents (I got back from camp in the afternoon and left that evening), so it got delayed. Plus this chapter was just giving me grief. I'm not entirely happy with it, but you needed all this info before we could get into the more exciting stuff next chap, which will have more Hiccup and Tuff, I promise! Although, I have another camp this week, four days, and my play, so you guys won't get Ch10 until Sunday at the earliest. No promises there though.**

**Thank you all for your wonderful support. You guys are so awesome!**

**lukebrambes: Thank you for pointing that out. I hope you continue to enjoy the story :)**

**ramen-luver101: Someone caught Hiccup :)**

**goodnight raggedy man: Thanks :D**

**God of Spirits-Spirit Black: Yay, epic and surprising! Love it when that happens ;)**

**maggi-lefay: Haha, thank you so much :) I'm glad you enjoy it so much.**

**61394: Very good point, I did not think of that. He's definitely gonna smell funny...**

**faisyah865: *squeaks* I'm trying! I promise. Slow updates are all Real Life's fault!**

**Guest: I'm kinda attached to the poetic-ness (yes, I know it's not a word) of Hiccup loosing his foot. So they match! I love it, so it had to happen. Thank you for the review!**

**sierrasteinbrecher: Haha, you're welcome :) I love the books so much too. They're incredibly adorable and deserve to be loved, so I'm loving on them. Hopefully I can incorporate more, because I love switching it up that way. I already have a few ideas *wiggleseyebrows***

**RoseJustice: Oh good, hopefully updates will be a little quicker :)**

**Twilight Warrior 1994: Sorry XD I'm like that a lot, just a warning.**

**TheGallopingCupcake: Don't you worry, I love lame puns. :D I'm glad it was awesome enough for you :D Still awesome?**

**NTYTekHTTYDFan: Well, as you can see from this chapter, he sustained a few more injuries this time around, so he's gone sleep for a little while.**

**HereForDragons: Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter too!**

**Until I Remember My Name: UPDATE IS HERE! And hopefully I won't take to long with the next one. (And thank you :) )**

**silverray989: Thank you! And sorry. I'm just a cliffhanger person.**

**Itban Fuyu: I see 'em all ;) Unfortunately, last wee was really busy, but I caught up. That was the battle chapter, this was the reaction chapter, I hope it sufficed :)**

**Lala2010: Thank you :) I rather enjoy the title to chapter 8 as well ;)**

**the dragon1010: Here you go.**

**Flame101: Sorry :P I do that a lot.**

**Ravensoul1999: Thanks :) I have continued.**

**Dragon Lord Draco: Endeavor was Hiccup's sword in the books, as apposed to Inferno his flaming sword in HTTYD2. Endeavor was the second best sword of the last King of the Wilderwest, Grimbeard the Ghastly, if memory serves.**

**KuBBie: *blushes* thanks you, you're too kind. I'm so glad it's your favorite. I try to make my chapter updates faster but we'll see how that goes...**

**Happy15: If you mean follow the first movie the rest of the way sorta, kinda, a little, but mostly no. Things are going to progress a bit different. If you mean the second movie, that is 5 years in the future and I haven't decided yet. At this point Hiccup is 16, having met Toothless when they were both 15 and this is a year later. Thank you for your encouragement! Keep enjoying it!**


	10. Make up and Wake up

**Disclaimer: *holds up sign* DO NOT OWN**

**Chapter 10**

**Make Up and Wake Up, Things to Do, Places to Be!**

Being back on Berk was, plain and simple, _weird_; half because no one (aside from Ruff and Astrid) knew who he was, and half because he had a dragon by his side this time. Looking over at Staticzapboom from their spot on the cliff, Tuffnut wondered exactly how long it had been. A month at most. Had it even been a month? Tuffnut wasn't really one to keep track of time, especially since his activities had changed and he couldn't count the days by the number of pranks. So he just settled on a month. About a month since he had left Berk on an argument and a whim.

All in all, Berk hadn't changed much. Snotlout was still toting around his little band of dragon fighters, Gobber was still working his forge alone, and Chief Stoick did cheifing stuff with the same old grim expression. The biggest changes, in Tuffnut's opinion, were Ruffnut and Astrid. They had already been scary girls to begin with, but when he had left they got _way_ scarier. Ruffnut had apparently taught Astrid how to be mischievous and evil and Astrid had definitely taught Ruffnut how to slug a guy with words—among other things. Tuffnut had already gotten his beating from Ruffnut, which had halfway turned into a wrestling match; and, of course, the tongue lashing.

Tuffnut decided to _never ever again_ get on his sister's bad side, or Astrid's for that matter.

Climbing to his feet, Tuffnut tapped Staticzapboom lightly in the side with his boot. "C'mon, lazy. Let's go."

Staticzapboom groaned in irritation (the dragon rather liked his naps), but nonetheless dragged himself to his feet and followed. Tuffnut started back towards the village from where they had been overlooking the ocean, swinging his arms. The village itself was also the same, except for their visitors. Those who had yet to repair enough ships to get home were camped out in and around the village, so it was a bit crowded.

Tuffnut and Staticzapboom strolled easily through the village, getting wary looks as they went. That was normal. Although, Tuffnut had gotten a reputation as one of the scarier dragon riders. It was mostly due to the fact that Tuffnut didn't say anything to anyone (except for Ruff, Astrid, Aesa, and Lodin). After Ruffnut and Astrid had recognized him because of his voice and his slip up with familiarity, he had resolved not to say anything at all, just to stay on the safe side.

As cool as it was to be scary, everyone he passed staring at him was a bit much, so Tuffnut quickened his pace and made a beeline for the healer's hut. The pair made it there in only a few minutes and they both entered (or squeezed through the doorway, in the dragon's case).

"Tuffnut," Aesa said when she saw him. "Have a nice morning flight?"

"Yup," Tuffnut replied, looking down at the one patient in the hut.

The Battle of the Red Death, as people had taken to calling it, had injured many, many Vikings, but they resided in the Great Hall. Hiccup was the only one in the healer's hut. He still had his mask on, which couldn't be comfortable, but he hadn't stirred since they'd brought him so it didn't really matter. His armor/riding gear was in a neat stack beside the bed, probably thanks to Astrid, and his dragon was stretched out on the other side.

"Hi, Toothless," Tuffnut said, waving to the Night Fury. The dragon glanced at him once, but then returned his eyes to his sleeping rider, chin resting on the edge of the bed.

"He hasn't left," Aesa said, concern coloring her voice. "Not even to just stretch his wings. Hasn't eaten much either."

Tuffnut nodded and asked, "And how's Hiccup doing?"

"Better," Aesa replied. "But it's only been a week."

"A week is a long time," Tuffnut mumbled petulantly.

Aesa gave a look equal parts sympathetic and irritated, which Tuffnut thought was pretty impressive. "He's dealing with Nadder poison _and_ the shock of losing a limb. Not to mention the impact, however much Toothless softened it."

Just then the door swing open and Astrid trudged in.

"Hey, guys," she greeted comfortably. "Any change?"

"Not since dawn when you last asked," Aesa answered dryly.

Astrid smiled a bit sheepishly and closed the door gently behind her.

"How have things been going for you?" Aesa asked, shifting on her stool.

Tuffnut remembered that Astrid had been helping Lodin introduce people to Flire, Scorch, and Scratch, trying to show people that they weren't entirely viscous killers.

"Relatively good," Astrid replied, approaching Hiccup's bedside. "People are still a little wary, but after what you guys did to save the Vikings as a whole, they're willing to give it a shot. We got the dragons from the training arena and a few volunteers to make friends."

"How did that go?" Aesa asked.

Astrid shrugged. "Okay, I guess. We'll just have to see if it lasts."

Aesa nodded. "We're on the way. It won't happen overnight."

"What about Chief Stoick?" Tuffnut spoke up, genuinely curious. What did the Berk Chief think of all this?

Astrid grimaced. "I think he's still hurting from… when Hiccup left on that Nightmare."

Well, that would cause some difficulties, Tuffnut thought. It wasn't like they could just tell him Hiccup was here again and he didn't need to be mad at the dragons.

"I actually came here to come get you, Aesa," Astrid continued. "One of your other riders just landed, somebody on a Gronckle."

"Oh, good," Aesa said, standing up. "Let's go greet him."

Once again, someone else joined them, this time with a bit more energy. The door burst open and Ruffnut bounced in.

"This is just the place to be, huh?" Tuffnut remarked to no one in particular.

Ruffnut took him by the arm and announced that, "You're taking me for a dragon flight."

"I am?" Tuffnut asked, wondering when Ruffnut had changed her attitude. She'd beaten him up three days ago, and he hadn't seen her since. He guessed that she had just finished punishing him, that's the only thing he could think of.

"Yep," Ruffnut said. "Right now."

"Only if you're not still mad at me," Tuffnut said, deciding it was time to negotiate.

Ruffnut sighed dramatically. "Fine! I forgive you for being an idiot. Now take me on your dragon!"

She dragged him out the door, and Tuffnut saw Aesa and Astrid shaking their heads and smiling at them. Staticzapboom followed them out the door, and Ruffnut immediately started pushing him toward the saddle on his back.

"Okay, okay!" Tuffnut exclaimed. "I got it, don't rush me!"

"Shut up," Ruffnut told him, punching his shoulder. "You'll give yourself away."

"Yeah, yeah," Tuffnut muttered, climbing onto Staticzapboom's back. "Hold on tight."

Ruffnut hopped up fearlessly behind Tuffnut and wrapped her arms unnecessarily tight around his waist. "Hurry up."

"C'mon, Staticzapboom," Tuffnut said quietly to the Skrill. "Time to show people what we've got."

Staticzapboom growled happily, and surged into the air.

* * *

"Watch over him, Toothless," Aesa told the Night Fury. "We'll be back in a little while."

Toothless whuffed in agreement scooting his nose a little closer to Hiccup's arm.

Astrid smiled at the dragon, trusting no one more to keep an eye on Hiccup. "He'll get better soon, I promise."

"Come on," Aesa said, pulling on her mask helmet. "Let's go."

She headed out the door, and Astrid followed her. She led the way down to the docks where the Gronkle and his rider had landed. In only a few minutes they reached the docks, the area with the dragon having been cleared of Vikings.

"Drott," Aesa greeted. "Good to see you."

"Aesa," the Gronckle rider, Drott, returned. "And you're Astrid, right?"

Astrid nodded. She still hadn't bothered asking how they all knew her so fast, and why they were immediately comfortable around her. She just took it as a blessing and went with it.

Drott slid off his dragon and turned to untie a bundle of leather. "I repaired his saddle, but I didn't do anything about his foot since I had no idea how things really went."

"They cut it off," Aesa said shortly. "Just below his knee."

"That's going to make things hard for him," Drott said, sadness for his friend clear in his voice. "But the sooner we get him back home the better. No offense, Astrid, but no one's comfortable leaving him here."

Astrid just nodded, wordlessly assuring him that she was both un-offended and in agreement.

"He hasn't woken up yet," Aesa said. "The shock and the Nadder poison are making sure of that."

"Alright, do you want me to stick around or just head back?" Drott asked.

Aesa didn't immediately reply, so Astrid said, "It would be nice to have someone a little more sensible than Tuffnut and Lodin to help show people dragons' good side."

Drott nodded. "Okay, I'll—"

"Oh, another one's here," a voice interrupted. "You got more friends on the way?"

The three tensed and turned toward the voice. Standing on the dock a several feet away stood a hulking Viking Astrid now recognized as Grimskull the Beastly, Chief of the Murderous tribe. He had his permanent (or so Astrid suspected) scowl plastered to his face, meaty arms crossed, and Chief Stoick stood near him.

"I wasn't aware more of you were coming," Stoick remarked calmly, a steely edge of distrust in his tone.

Astrid glanced uneasily at Aesa while Drott shifted uncomfortably.

"Apologies, s-sir," he stammered. "I just… finished repairing Too— the Night Fury's saddle. We're hoping to get out of your village as soon as possible."

"Not quite, _dragon riders,_" Grimskull said, spitting out the last bit like it was insult. Technically it was, but Astrid knew that Aesa and Drott were proud of it. "There are still things to… discuss."

Astrid was pretty sure have a nice chat about things wasn't what the Murderous chief meant by 'discuss'.

Stoick shot the other chief a brief glare, which went entirely unnoticed by the receiving party, and said, "We still need to talk about what's to be done now. And where you all stand in regards to the other tribes."

"Not until our leader wakes up again," Aesa said firmly. "We won't make assumptions and empty promises when you can wait for solid details from him."

"Are you sure he's even going to wake up?" Grimskull asked, leering at them. "Nadder poison has been known to be fatal on occasion."

Astrid scowled, wanting to speak up about how Hiccup was strong and he could pull through, but knowing she couldn't. Drott spoke for her.

"He's overcome a lot of fatal things," Drott replied shortly. "He'll be fine soon enough."

Aesa opened up her mouth to add something when they suddenly heard a clamor of voices up in the village all saying one thing.

"NIGHT FURY! GET DOWN!"

"Toothless," Astrid breathed, her heart beating faster. If Toothless was up that could only mean one thing…

Aesa and Drott apparently knew that as well because they both dashed past the two chieftans, the Gronkle following after with tongue hanging out of its mouth. Grimskull rolled his eyes and started up the docks, scowling all the way. Astrid made to follow but Stoick caught her arm.

"Astrid," he said seriously. "You've been spending a lot of time with them."

An uneasy feeling twisted Astrid's stomach as she replied. "Yes, sir. They saved our lives. The whole archipelago owes them a debt."

"I'm aware," the chief said tightly. "But that doesn't mean they aren't dangerous."

"Chief, I—" Astrid protested, but stopped when he held up a hand.

"I'm not saying you can't handle yourself, Astrid, because I know you can," Stoick explained. "But we also know nothing about these people except that they abandoned their tribes for dragons. For all we know they could've been thrown out. They may well be criminals."

Astrid had a hard time picturing firm but sweet Aesa, goofy Lodin, and _Tuffnut_ as criminals, but she kept her mouth shut about that.

"I'm just saying," Stoick continued. "Watch your step around them until we know more. We haven't even met their leader."

"Well, his dragon's out, so I'm pretty sure that means he's awake," Astrid said slowly. "How about we meet him now?"

Her chief nodded and the pair of them made their way back to the village.

* * *

Hiccup woke up feeling _sore_—very, very sore. Groaning, he shifted on the hard wooden surface. His whole body ached, especially his back and his left leg. Then he felt something different. Something was nudging his arm. Too tired to respond, even though he'd only just woken up, Hiccup stayed still. The nudging got more adamant, joined by an insistent cooing noise.

Hiccup instantly knew it was Toothless. He'd do anything for his best friend, even when he hated to, so Hiccup cautiously pried open his eyelids. Thankfully, the room he was in was dimly lit.

"Hey, Toothl'ss," Hiccup croaked, cringing as his throat scratched painfully. He sounded horrible.

But Toothless didn't care how he sounded, he just cared that he'd made a sound. With a joyful croon Toothless shoved his nose farther into Hiccup's face.

"Happy t' see you too," Hiccup whispered, a smile tugging at his lips even though he felt like grimacing. He really was incredibly sore.

Toothless got a little too excited. He accidently stepped, quite heavily, on Hiccup's stomach.

"OW!" Hiccup jerked up into a sitting position, wincing as his back twinged painfully. Then he realized a number of things all at once. One, he had his helmet on. Two, he wasn't in his little home on the Wingback Isles. And three, he was pretty sure he should be dead.

Tugging off the helmet, Hiccup scanned the room. Toothless, not at all put out by causing Hiccup momentary pain, started leaping around the room. He didn't have much space to bounce in the little building. It was plain too, only decorated by drying herbs and a shelf here and there. Hiccup finally recognized it. He'd certainly spent enough time there getting patched up for burns and scrapes.

"We're on Berk?!" Hiccup choked out, his raspy voice even more strangled. "Toothless, we're on Berk?"

Toothless bounced over the bed and twisted around to look at Hiccup with bright eyes and wide pupils. _Of course we are_, he seemed to say.

"What are we… why am I…" Hiccup stammered. "I… wait, why aren't I dead?"

Toothless snorted.

"Did you catch me?" Hiccup asked, wondering how his dragon could have done that without the use of his tailfin.

Toothless warbled lightly, something in his tone insinuating a _no, duh_ response.

"Which reminds me," Hiccup said, suddenly remembering. "What were you thinking? Flying into the Red Death's mouth like that! How'd you even know I was alive?"

Toothless snorted again, and Hiccup couldn't tell if that meant '_I didn't'_ or _'of course you were'_. He wasn't quite sure which was worse.

Pointing a finger at the dragon, Hiccup once again ignored the twinge of pain in his back and scolded his friend. "That was a very stupid thing to do, Toothless. Don't ever do it again! You could have been killed right along with me!"

Toothless rolled his eyes, such a human like gesture Hiccup was sure that dragon had picked up from him. _That was the point._

"Now you listen," Hiccup said sternly, fighting back a smile. "This isn't a 'go down with the ship' sort of thing here. If I—"

Toothless had obviously had enough of this conversation and ended it with a good long, slobbery lick up Hiccup's face.

"Toothless!" Hiccup exclaimed, laughing.

The dragon laughed right back at him, dancing just out of reach when Hiccup tried to swat him for it. Hiccup grinned and threw off the blanket, ready to go after his dragon. Something stopped him though. The grin fell from his face and he froze, gripping the edge of the bed with white knuckles.

Toothless turned serious too, cooing softly in concern and padding back toward him.

Biting his lip, Hiccup steeled his nerves and looked down. His stomach flipped at what he saw, or rather, didn't see. His foot was gone. Almost half of his left leg was just… gone. Nothing. Nada. Zip. _Gone._

Taking a shaky breath, Hiccup looked back up at Toothless. His first thought was, how did this happen? But he couldn't get a detailed answer from Toothless about that. So, second thought it was—standing up. Except, he didn't have a fake foot to replace it.

"Give me a hand, bud?" Hiccup requested quietly.

Toothless immediately obliged, maneuvering over to Hiccup's left side and offering himself as crutch. Hiccup levered himself slowly to his feet—er foot, and used his left hand on Toothless's neck to steady himself. He breathed deeply.

"So far, so good," he murmured. His right leg, the full one, trembled a little under his weight and he felt understandably quite unbalanced.

Toothless rumbled encouragingly and stood absolutely still while he waited for Hiccup to take the first step. His rider took two more big breaths and steeled himself. Using both hands to support himself, Hiccup took one halting, stumbling, exhilarating step forwards; then another, and another.

"I did it!" Hiccup whispered, laughing a little breathlessly.

He took another step and his good leg buckled beneath him. Toothless jerked his head around to catch Hiccup before he could face plant into the hard wooden floor. Hiccup's chest crashed onto the top of Toothlesss's head and he winced. If his ribs weren't broken, then they were at least bruised.

"Heh, spoke to soon," Hiccup commented dryly, giving his dragon a smile as he straightened up. "Thanks, bud."

Toothless crooned, _no problem_, and moved backward to Hiccup's side once more.

Hiccup scowled down at his leg, or what was left of it anyway. "They didn't have a wooden peg to spare, huh?"

Toothless growled lightly.

"Of course not," Hiccup muttered dryly. "This is Berk. They don't help the enemy out much if they can help it, do they?"

_Idiots_, Toothless growled.

"Yeah, you said it, Toothless," Hiccup said, chuckling. "Okay, let's try this again."

_You can do this_, Toothless warbled, and Hiccup gave him a grateful smile.

"To the door then, Toothless." Hiccup started limping for the second time, determined to make it to the door.

Toothless walked slowly next to him, watching him carefully for signs that he might fall over. By the time they reached the door Hiccup felt exhausted all over again. But he wasn't done yet, he needed to know what was going on, and he hated to waste time. He gripped the handle and was about to pull it open when his crutch vanished.

"Toothless!" Hiccup yelped, teetering dangerously on one leg and grip the door handle with two hands.

Toothless bounded back with Hiccup's helmet held delicately between his teeth, thoughtfully not slobbering all over it.

"Thanks, bud," Hiccup said, taking the helmet and slipping it on. "I completely forgot."

_Of course you did,_ Toothless snorted.

"None of your sarcasm, Toothless, it's not appreciated," Hiccup admonished, though his grin contradicted his words.

Toothless growled lightly and nudged his shoulder, _Get a move on._

"Okay, okay, Mr. Bossy," Hiccup said bracing his one foot and pulling on the handle. "Let's do this."

As soon as the door was open enough for Toothless to fit, the Night Fury shoved his head through Hiccup's knees and lifted him up.

"Woah!" Hiccup held on tight as he slid down Toothless's bare neck to the spot where he usually sat on his saddle. "Probably a good idea, Toothless."

The dragon radiated _Of course it was_ as he leaped out the doorway. His sudden appearance at once incited the reactive words of, "NIGHT FURY! GET DOWN!" but Toothless looked like he couldn't care less. He halted to make sure Hiccup was steady on his bare back.

In that moment a familiar red Nadder landed a few feet away, squawking enthusiastically in gretting.

"Flire, Lodin," Hiccup said, smiling beneath his mask. "Thank Odin, I was afraid Toothless and I were here all by ourselves."

Lodin chuckled as he slid of Flire's back. "Aw, come on, Chief. You know we'd never abandon you."

Hiccup smiled again. "Of course not. But you never can tell with those Vikings."

Flire twittered in agreement, trotting behind Lodin as he approached.

Glancing over his shoulder, Lodin said, "We only have Aesa and Tuffnut here, and I think Drott just got here, so we need to be careful."

Hiccup straightened up on Toothless's back—down to business then. "Okay, who from the other tribes are here?"

"All the chiefs that were at the battle are here," Lodin answered quickly, and Hiccup saw a group of Vikings coming up the hill. "They're all waiting to talk to _you_ about the dragons."

Hiccup's heart leaped with anxiety and excitement. This was his opportunity to finally show Vikings that dragons could be _good_. It was also his opportunity to majorly screw everything up.

"So you might want to get to thinking on whether or not you want everyone to know who you are or not," Lodin said quietly but urgently.

_Not_, was the first answer. The thought of people knowing, specifically the people of _Berk_ sent chills of fear down his spine.

Then their company arrived; both chiefs and people who needed to be there, and also curious standbys. Fortunately, Hiccup didn't have to say anything immediately because Static slammed into the ground in a heavy landing. Tuffnut leaped off his dragons back, and Ruffnut slid surreptitiously off behind him and sidled away unnoticed by all but Hiccup. He didn't have time to ponder that further because Tuffnut slammed into him and Toothless at full speed.

Toothles growled in complaint, and Hiccup grabbed onto his neck again to avoid falling off.

"You're boring when you sleep," Tuffnut said bluntly. "I'm glad you're awake again."

"Thanks… I think," Hiccup muttered. "Good to see you too, Tuff."

"Oh and, just so you know," Tuffnut whispered. "I'm the scary silent guy since Astrid and Ruff recognized me really fast. You should probably be sneakier than me."

Hiccup nodded, and Tuffnut stepped back. How was he going to be sneaky about this? He was quite aware of his rather distinct, nasally tone and that, coupled with his slight stature, could very well give him away to anyone who knew him a year ago.

"So, the hero is awake," commented a kind, though authoritative, voice.

Hiccup turned his eyes toward the man who had spoken and tried to place him. He remembered him from the Things his father used to drag him to… Magadon the Murderous, that was it. Doing a quick scan of the crowd, Hiccup saw a few wary faces who obviously didn't agree with the generous title of _hero_ from Magadon. However a few people were regarding him nicely enough. Then he saw Aesa and Drott, along with Blackmetal, sprinting up to meet them. That was a comfort. He had mixed feelings when he saw Astrid and Stoick walking more slowly up to the group.

"Magadon the Murderous, Chief of the Meatheads," Magadon introduced himself unnecessarily. "I organized the Vikings to attack the Dragon's Nest."

Hiccup merely nodded, still unsure of what he was going to do about not being found out. He could just do like Tuffnut and be silent. He needed to discuss and negotiate with these people. He did decide, though, that he liked Magadon. The chief immediately owned up to his role in the attack, and Hiccup liked that.

"You've been out for a week," Magadon informed him, and Hiccup inwardly cringed. "We've been waiting to talk to you about dragons. You're friends here refused to make unfounded promises."

Hiccup nodded, proud his of his troop for their strength. It couldn't have been easy with so many Vikings hounding at them for a week.

"Admirable, if you ask me," said another Viking, another Chief that Hiccup placed as Bearbone the Fierce of the Bashem Oiks.

"Nobody asked you," spat an ugly, twisted-looking Viking. Hiccup didn't remember him.

"That's enough, Ruthless," another voice, this one instantly recognizable, scolded. Stoick the Vast pushed through the crowd, Astrid on his heels.

Hiccup's breath caught in his throat. What was he going to do?!

His father stopped about ten feet in front of them and sized them up. Hiccup did not like the calculating look on the chief's face. It made him feel like he could look right through his mask and see his face. But if he did have X-ray vision, he didn't let on.

"I'm Stoick the Vast," his father said. "Chief of Berk, which is where you are if you didn't know that already."

Hiccup nodded dumbly, mind racing.

"And you are?" Stoick prodded, his face stern.

One solution came to mind and Hiccup seized it, hoping to high Asgard that Gobber wasn't in hearing distance.

"Ye can jest call me the First," Hiccup replied in a pristine accent, perfected by numerous imitations of his father—mostly to Gobber, which is why he hoped he hadn't heard that.

Glancing past his father, Hiccup locked eyes with Astrid as her eyebrows climbed toward her hairline. Hiccup was intensely grateful that his mask hid his facial expression, because it was sure to have given him away otherwise.

"It's unusual for… Vikings your age to have such an accent," Stoick remarked, suspicion heavy in his voice and his eyes.

"I take after my father," Hiccup replied before he could stop himself.

Tuffnut and Lodin snickered and Toothless snorted. Stoick frowned, looking more suspicious than ever at the response Hiccup got from that comment. Hiccup reached out and slapped Lodin's helmet with one hand, flicked Toothless's ear with the other, and kicked Tuffnut with his one good boot all at once. He was rather proud of that. And they all shut up.

Stoick still looked deeply mistrustful, but he didn't call Hiccup on it. In fact, he didn't say anything, only stared hard at Hiccup again.

Magadon stepped forward and spoke in Stoick's stead. "Well, if you're up to it, First, we'd like to discuss the issue of the dragons in Berk's Great Hall."

"Of course," Hiccup replied in his accent. It felt strange to talk like this without a drop of sarcasm, but strangely comforting, like a safety blanket. Nobody recognized his voice this way.

"Good, shall we?" Magadon pointed out the Great Hall, unknowing of how unnecessary it was.

As they began a tense, silent trudge up to the Great Hall, Stoick sent a few villagers to go find the other three chiefs who had apparently joined the attack on the Dragon's Nest; Bertha the Buff, Dagur the Deranged, and Norbert the Nutjob. They all met up in the Great Hall in a matter of minutes. All eight chiefs, and a few advisers from each tribe.

* * *

**A/N: So, this chapter was originally gonna include the discussion in the Great Hall but then it got long (as usual), and I'm having trouble with that scene, and I felt like I kept you guys waiting long enough. I'm truly sorry about the delay, but I've had very busy weeks and computer problems -_- my life. And school starts tomorrow *tearsup*. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed. What did you guys think of my way to disguise Hiccup's voice? I haven't seen it anywhere else and I was rather proud of having thought of it ;) So reviews, lots of important Qs to be A'd.**

**blue mountain fairy: Sorry, this wasn't 'soon', but I'm glad you're enjoying the story. As to when they find out it's Hiccup... heh, well... not for a while, my dear reader, not for a while.**

**fanfic-addict21: I realize that. Truthfully, that last chapter was just giving me grief and I may go back and revise it later, but here is my reasoning for why Astrid was faster at figuring it out than Ruff: Tuff has a mask on as well as armor so, esp. among the other young riders, he's not immediately recognizable. He reveals himself to Astrid when he's accidentally a bit _too_ familiar with her and everything clicks for her. He just rolls with it, since she already knows about Hiccup and everything. With Ruff, Tuff is a more than a little nervous, and plenty scared, which is a bit unlike him, so that detracted from his recognizability (yes, I just made that up). He, once again, gave himself away when his mouth got away from him and he called her by her name before she'd introduced herself. So, basically, Tuff was trying harder to hide it with Ruff. I know it wasn't the best plotting and execution I've done though, and it could probably be better. I'm still considering, but trying to keep the story moving forward :) Thank you for your thoughts.**

**ramen-luver101: Yeah, well, I honestly just love how poetic it is. And he he looks pretty epic with it so... yeah. It had to happen.**

**Twilight Warrior 1994: Haha, thank you :) hopefully this one was just as good.**

**Gods of the Spirits-Spirit Black: heh... heh... heh... you have no idea what you got into... erm, no, actually. It won't be ending in a few chapters. Part 1 and the defeat of the Red Death section will end, but not the story by any means. This is a story about Tuff and Hiccup's adventures and so far I've just been setting the stage for big, big adventures to follow. I suppose I could spilt into a series but, eh, I don't feel like it. So, um, yeah, not over anytime soon. Sorry XD And Hiccup probably won't be revealed for a while... sort of... it's complicated. You'll understand when we get there. Hiccup has a confusing, complicated life ahead of him in this story *evilgrin* . But anyway, I'll try to get you that next update soon!**

**faisyah865: Aw, thank you so much! *blushes* That means a lot to me :) very sorry about the slow updates. If I had my way, I would skip real life and just sit and write this story all day long so I could dish ya'll out 6-8k chapters every day. Sadly that cannot happen, but I'll do my best.**

**Itban Fuyu: Seeing weapons. They are battling those stubborn Vikings who will not comply with my inspiration into submission. Hope you enjoyed :)**

**silverray989: Yeah, poor Tuff... I'm not really planning to go easy on him... ever...**

**Flybykid: First of all, you extremely awesome for reviewing almost all my chapters as you caught up. You are one of my favorite people :) I'm gonna responde by review here:**

**Ch1: Right you are. Not quite sure what you mean by Tuff's plot being off-topic. Do you mean you just didn't see how it connected with the movie's plot? Sorry, I'm just a little confused, but I love to know where I can improve.**

**Ch2: Still not sure what you mean by how involved Tuff's character is with the plot, but I see what you mean about Tuff being so open-minded. Originally, I was a little worried about how to play his acceptance of dragons, but as I wrote he just kinda flowed into the dragon rider's life like he could care less that it was treason. And he doesn't :) I do try to play him with a _bit_ more common sense than in the show, but still keep that insanely reckless edge.**

**Ch3: Yeah, Torch will come. Not exactly sure when, but I've got some ideas.**

**Ch5: Yep, but you know that by now :)**

**Ch6: That is kind of ironic now that you mention it :) I hadn't thought of it that way before.**

**Ch8: Ah, I'm guessing you haven't read the books then? I admit I got it from there. And yes, I personally think Toothless's plan was a stupid one but... eh, he said he was so he did. My thinking is that Hiccup and Toothless's bond is a year strong now and Toothless won't live without him. Maybe he thought he could take the queen down from the inside or something... I dunno, I'll try to think of something that makes Toothless's plan minutely sane ;) .**

**Ch9: I have to say, the chapter titles are huge fun for me :D I always feel so proud of them. I hope this meets your expectations!**

**Thank you all!** (O) (::) (O)** (::) Cookies and donuts for the reviewers! (O) (::) (O) (::)**


	11. Hiccup Knocks Dagur Down

**Disclaimer: is a disclaimer. Ya'll know what that means, amirigh'?**

**Chapter 11**

**Hiccup Knocks Down Dagur and Gives a Speech About Why**

The trudge up to the Great Hall was tense and silent, at least for Hiccup. Stoick sent a few villagers to go find the other three chiefs who had apparently joined the attack on the Dragon's Nest; Bertha the Buff, Dagur the Deranged, and Norbert the Nutjob. They all met up in the Great Hall in a matter of minutes; all eight chiefs. Everyone else—Astrid and Ruffnut, the heirs, the dragon riders, the advisors—were made to wait outside the hall while only the chiefs convened. The chiefs and Toothless, that is. No one tried to make him leave the dragon outside.

The chiefs all arranged themselves spaciously around the fire pit. Stoick took the head with Hiccup on his left. As custom dictated everyone placed their weapons on the fire pit's wide brick wall. Axes, swords, and spears clattered onto the low, table-like wall—a sign that they were here to negotiate and deliberate, not fight. Hiccup slid off Toothless back and, still leaning heavily on the dragon, reached down and touched the familiar knife in his one boot, nestled snugly against his ankle. He pulled out the slim, polished dagger and laid it on the wall in front of him.

He looked up to see that everyone had completely relinquished their weapons (including several back-up knives from pretty much everyone. They were a paranoid bunch). As everyone settled, they looked to Hiccup.

Suddenly he was very nervous. Up until that point he had kept it together, but now nerves came crashing in. Hiccup bit his lip, immensely relieved that his helmet masked his anxiety. It wouldn't do for them to see just how unsure he was. Around the room the eight chiefs were either glaring at him and Toothless, sizing them up, or eyeing them warily.

"Alright then," Stoick boomed, his voice reverberating through the largely empty Great Hall. "Now that we're all here we have some important things to discuss."

Hiccup took a deep breath and chanted inwardly, _It's for the dragons. It's for the good of all Vikings. You can do this, Hiccup. Don't screw up. And don't forget the accent… Odin, that was such a stupid idea._

"It's my understanding that you're here in defense of the dragons," Stoick continued, looking at Hiccup and waiting for confirmation. "Your riders claimed that they aren't the devils we've come to know them as."

Hiccup easily recognized the undertone of doubt in his father's voice that testified to just how much the Berkian chief believed that—which was not at all. His tone remained respectful though, in spite of his doubt. Hiccup nodded wordlessly in response.

"Let's get right down to it then," Ruthless the Foul, Chief of the Uglithugs, sneered, slamming his hands down on the fire pit's wide wall. "How do we know the dragons won't keep raiding us?"

"Because they don't need to anymore," Hiccup explained. "The Red Death, that huge dragon we killed, was controlling them. She was forcing them to feed her along with themselves, and fish didn't make the daily cut of what they needed. She is the one who sent them on raids to take our food. If they didn't do it, they were eaten themselves."

"But what if they keep on raiding?' Grimskull the Beastly, Chief of the Murderous, demanded. "They're demons, they are. Who's to say they don't just keep on raiding for easy food?"

"I say so," Hiccup said confidently, his previous nerves forgotten. He could do this. All he needed to do was tell the truth. "They won't keep raiding, at least not collectively. Any rogue dragon who attacks anyway I can deal with."

"And what would you have us do instead of fight them?"

Hiccup turned to locate the speaker. It was Bertha the Buff, Chief of the Bog-Burglars. She had arms crossed in an intimidating pose, but not necessarily hostile, thank Odin. Hiccup replied to that question easily.

"Make peace with them," he said. "Ideally, integrate them in your daily lives. At the very least, don't kill on sight."

"I'm not sure we can trust those dragons," Nortbert the Nutjob, Chief of the Hysterics, said, staring at Hiccup with one eye that never blinked and another that twitched constantly. It was a bit disconcerting. "Or you for that matter."

"What if one tribe got more dragons than another?" Magadon interrupted Norbert, concern evident in his tone. "One tribe could become more powerful than the rest, dominate us easily."

"Dragons aren't to be used in war," Hiccup said at once. This needed to be absolutely clear. Magadon's concern was definitely justified. "They aren't to be treated like weapons, they're to be treated like friends."

"Why not?" a new, previously silent voice, demanded.

When Hiccup saw who it was, he immediately tensed. This was going to be bad.

"I mean, it's simple really," Dagur said, a manic grin on his face. "You want us to welcome dragons as our own but not fight with them? How can we treat them like our friends if they can't fight with us? It is the Viking way. We _are_ warriors. Or have you forgotten that?"

Hiccup bristled at Dagur's implication, and every chief seemed to consider his argument carefully. Grimskull and Ruthless instantly supported Dagur.

"The young chief here is right," Grimskull said. "If we can't fight with dragons then they won't ever be accepted as part of us."

Hiccup grit his teeth and was about to answer, but Magadon beat him to it.

"We'll destroy each other in a matter of months thinking like that," the Meathead chief argued.

"Exactly my point!" Dagur exclaimed triumphantly. "It just proves that dragons and Vikings can't live together in peace!"

No one had an answer this time, and all eyes turned to Hiccup.

"The dragons can be great friends, but not like this," Hiccup said. "Not for the purpose of fighting. They—"

"You used them against me," Dagur cut in.

"You were going to kill them too," Hiccup countered.

"You're a hypocrite," Dagur accused. "You said we can't use dragon to fight, but you're perfectly willing to do it yourself."

"Let me rephrase then," Hiccup growled, glaring through his helmet's eye slits at Dagur. "I'll use simple words, so you can understand. We can't use dragons solely for the purpose of war. We can't train dragons just to conquer the other tribes. Defending is one thing, the offensive should be very carefully considered but it's not prohibited. What I'm saying is that they aren't tools. They are living, breathing, feeling creatures, probably with three times the sensitivity of your average Viking."

"That's a very fine line to walk," Stoick pointed out gruffly, arms crossed.

"I know," Hiccup said, tearing his glare away from Dagur to look at his father. "But it's not going to be black and white. Few things in life."

"I still don't like this," Ruthless growled, leaning forward and scowling at Hiccup.

"You're not the only one," Hiccup muttered, and Toothless growled in agreement.

"No," Dagur said, speaking up again. "Ruthless here is right."

The Uglithug chief straightened up importantly, and Dagur hopped lightly up onto the wall of the fire pit. Several other chiefs glared up at the Berserker chief as he stood over them, but they let it continue for the time being. Only Ruthless and Grimskull seemed un-offended, since the three of them seemed to be on the same side.

"We can't be sure the dragons won't attack again. And what's with all these rules?" Dagur demanded, his tone mocking. "We can't fight with dragons but we can? This is getting to be ridiculous! And who decides when we can? Us?"

A few of the chiefs looked at each other uncertainly as Dagur continued at a leisurely pace around the low wall, stepping over Grimskull's spears.

"Or _him_?" Dagur pointed a finger at Hiccup. "Is he just going to lord over his great and mighty knowledge? What's he going to do? Monitor everything about dragons that we do? Is he going to be constantly in our business about the dragons?"

"Do you know anyone else who's trained a dragon?" Hiccup questioned dryly. "Who else is going to help you live with dragons?"

Dagur sneered down at Hiccup as he took a big, but still casual, step over Ruthless' battle axe and his Roman whip, a cat o' nine tails. "Forgive me if it sounds a bit more like a power play to me. Controlling and monitoring all the dragons, what next? Our very own tyrant king?"

Hiccup felt red hot anger build in his chest. Clenching his fists, Hiccup had to admit it was because Dagur was partially _right_. He _didn't_ have everything worked out. He hadn't planned farther ahead than fighting the Red Death. But he was wrong about Hiccup doing this for power. And Dagur probably knew that, but he was doing an excellent job of preying on the other seven chiefs' lack of knowledge.

Toothless growled lightly. _Don't let this continue,_ he seemed to urge. He was right; Dagur was going to walk all over him if Hiccup didn't stop him.

"Dagur," Hiccup cut in. "That's enough."

"I don't think it is!" Dagur yelled, skirting around Magadon's war hammer. "We know nothing about you!"

Hiccup was acutely aware that Dagur knew _exactly_ who he was, and was choosing to withhold the information. Why that was, Hiccup could only guess, but he had a pretty good idea.

"For all we know you could be a murderer!" Dagur said accusingly, a wicked gleam in his eyes. "A thief! An outcast! You could be the worst of the worst for all we know. How do we know if you're a noble warrior like us... or criminal scum? "

Hiccup inwardly fumed. Looking around he saw Grimskull and Ruthless readily agreeing. Magadon and Bearbone were frowning, and Hiccup got the feeling they weren't quite buying that, for which he was thankful. Norbert looked like he was seriously considering Dagur's words, but Hiccup was never sure when it came to The Nutjob. Bertha looked contemplative as well. What really hit Hiccup hard though, was the suspicion he saw reflected in his father's familiar light green eyes. It made his blood boil.

_"Dagur—" _Hiccup hissed, but the other chief cut him off and continued.

"Tell me, _First_, what did you do to get kicked out of your tribe?" Dagur sneered as he continued to walk on the wall. "Try to convince them dragons were nice little fuzzy friends?"

Hiccup throat went dry, he wasn't going to, was he? But no, he seemed to be playing the criminal angle instead.

"Or did you commit a crime? Get banished? A warrior is faithful to his tribe, but where's yours? Did you betray them? Just what did you do?" Dagur said, a maniacal grin on his face with no obvious attempt to get rid of it.

"I didn't do anything," Hiccup seethed. "I didn't kill anybody, and I didn't steal anything. In fact, I wasn't even banished. I left because I wanted to."

Dagur halted, surprised flickering quickly across his face. He evidently hadn't considered that, and Hiccup felt a sense of smugness at having caught the Berserker off-guard. But Dagur quickly recovered and pressed onward.

"So you were a coward!" Dagur shot back, now standing between Hiccup and Magadon. "You _ran away_ from your tribe. Have you no courage at all? We still don't know anything about you. Why should we trust someone who won't even show us his face? Someone we know nothing about? You dishonor us, hiding your face."

Dagur turned and addressed the chiefs directly, instead of the aloof monologue he'd been giving. "He won't even give us his _name!_ How can we trust that the truth is coming from him, and not lies? He could be the very spawn of Loki for all we know!"

The next words out of Hiccup's mouth even threw himself a little off-balance.

"My name's Thorir," he blurted, spitting out the first name that came to mind.

Everyone looked at him with varying surprised expressions; raised eyebrows, wide eyes, dropped jaws. Hiccup mentally facepalmed, and Toothless rumbling questioningly. _Seriously?_ he thought to himself. _Dagur just brought up Loki and you choose a name with 'Thor' in it? Way to go, Hiccup, way to go._

"I don't really know, bud, just roll with it," Hiccup whispered to the dragon.

Dagur was the most taken aback of all the chiefs, but he recovered quickly once again. His eyes darkened and he murmured, just loud enough for only Hiccup to hear, "So that's how you wanna play it."

Then his volume rose and Dagur laughed derisively. "Thorir? Thor's warrior? Hah! You're mother certainly named you wrong."

"Think what you want, Dagur," Hiccup said stiffly. "That's my name."

Dagur snorted and resumed his walk. "And you think just telling us your name is going to fix everything? You're sorely mistaken, _Thorir_."

Hiccup needed to do something, put an end to this. Dagur was getting way too far, far too fast. Hiccup was losing his minimal credibility very quickly. As Dagur took another step, the perfect opportunity presented itself to Hiccup. He shifted a little away from Toothless, but still kept a firm hand on his neck for balance. As Dagur lifted his foot to take another step Hiccup struck. He leaned forward and shot his hand out, grabbing Dagur's ankle and yanking. With the only leg he was standing on so suddenly pulled out from under him, Dagur crashed. He fell straight into the pit, just on the edge of the tame (but still hot) fire.

With a (very chiefly) yelp, Dagur scrambled to his feet and out of the pit. He rolled clumsily over the wall to get away from the heat. He turned to glare daggers at Hiccup.

Hiccup smirked underneath his mask. It was much easier now that Dagur was eye level again. "Careful, Dagur," he warned. "You mess with fire, you get burned."

Dagur clearly had no trouble grasping the double meaning behind those words, and his expression got angrier than it already was.

"Best you stay on our level," Magadon commented from across the furnace. "It gets dangerous, standing up so high."

Dagur looked furious, but Hiccup knew he was down for the moment. This was his chance. Despite Dagur's high and mighty attitude which clearly grated against the other chief's nerves, he had done substantial damage. Hiccup needed to address this before Dagur could make things worse. Two options presented themselves in Hiccup's mind. One, he could point out everyone else's failures to meet the values of a Viking warrior and bring them all down to the level that Dagur had pushed him down to—shame them. And, oh, was that a tempting option. _Or_ he could refute Dagur's claims against him and establish himself as a noble warrior. Instead of shaming them, he could set them all up to be reaching for those values of a warrior.

Taking a deep breath, Hiccup knew what he needed to say. He faced the other chiefs and began to speak: "I understand your hesitance to trust me, I haven't been open with you all, and I'm on the side of your sworn enemies of 300 years. But I think we're all forgetting some important things. We're all warriors here, I don't think that can be denied."

To emphasize that point, Hiccup gently touched his dagger which lay on the fire pit's low wall. Everyone automatically glanced down at their own weapons in front of them; axes, spear, swords, and a good number of back-up knives. No one disagreed. Not even Dagur, who stood seething on Hiccup's left.

"Whether or not we are noble warriors is another matter," Hiccup said, feeling his confidence slowly rebuild inside. Toothless standing supportively next to him helped. "But we _are_ warriors, all of us. The greatest of the Nine Noble Virtues of a warrior is courage. That has been taught for generations. Chief Dagur here would call me a coward, but I think he's forgotten what happened last week."

Dagur didn't interrupt, but he looked like he wanted too. Very badly. Too bad he probably didn't have a comeback.

"Just last week, you and all your tribes banded together to create a Viking army of great size and no doubt a formidable force. You showed great courage, but against the Red Death you stood no chance," Hiccup reminded them. "I _knew_ that. So I came to help, even though I didn't expect to come out of it alive and I certainly didn't expect any of you to consider accepting dragons. But I came anyway. And I defeated that dragon with the help of my riders. You all saw the battle. Can any of you honestly doubt my courage, or that of my riders, having seen what you did?"

Grimskull and Ruthless shared an uncomfortable look while Dagur continued to glare at Hiccup. Norbert the Nutjob shrugged impassively, but Bertha, Bearbone, Magadon, and Stoick all nodded. Hiccup felt his confidence getting stronger and stronger.

"Truth, the second Noble Virtue," Hiccup continued. "I'll tell you the truth: Thorir isn't the name my mother gave me. It's the name _I_ gave me. To be completely honest, my past is nothing to be proud of. My family thought I was a disgrace, my tribe thought I was a nuisance. I was looked down on, mostly for things I couldn't control. In the end, that is why I left. That is why I hide my face and change my name; to leave my past behind me. That is the truth about me. As for the dragons, I speak the truth about them too. Have you once seen my dragon or my riders' dragons attack Vikings?"

Hiccup looked over at Toothless, mentally pleading that he hadn't caused any mayhem while he was out for a week. Since no one jumped in to rave about the dragon's destruction, Hiccup assumed everything went relatively fine.

"The third Virtue, honor, can be interpreted a number of ways," Hiccup said, returning his attention to the chiefs. "But I'm going to use it to mean honoring my beliefs. I've risked a lot to honor my beliefs, not the least of which is that dragons are not evil, mindless killers. And I'll continue to honor those beliefs for as long as I breathe. I haven't violated the Viking code of honor and morals either, in all my contact with other tribes and my own."

Hiccup glanced over at Dagur, Ruthless, and Grimskull. They didn't look the least bit receptive, but he didn't expect them to be. Bearbone and Magadon still looked supportive, and Hiccup got the feeling that they would be the most accepting of change, and the dragons. Norbert, Bertha, and Stoick were harder to convince but Hiccup had hope that he was getting through to them.

Toothless huffed encouragingly next to him and Hiccup started up again, giving him a grateful scratch.

"Running away from my tribe on my own, you might think that I completely lack fidelity," Hiccup said slowly, mentally mapping out his words before he said them. "But not once have I betrayed anything about my tribe to anyone else. In fact, the amount of trouble I caused when I was with them, I could even argue that I was doing them a favor by leaving. But regardless, I have continued to protect my tribe from a distance, in a far better way than before. When it comes to my dragon riders and my own dragon… no one could ever convince me, through bribery, lies, or force, to abandon them."

Hiccup focused especially on Grimskull and Ruthless when he said the last sentence. He needed them to know he wouldn't be trifled with. From their reputations and the greedy gleams in their eyes, whatever they planned, he knew that it would not be in his favor.

"I'm not here for power," Hiccup told them firmly, making eye contact with Norbert, then Bertha, then Stoick. "I'm not supporting the dragons to conquer any of you. In fact, I would rather not stick my nose in anyone's business. I only want peace between the dragons and the Vikings, because this bloodshed is needless. And it _is_ possible. I've been living among dragons a long time. You can too. They're not what we thought they were. We don't have to fight them. And now that the Red Death is gone, they don't have to fight us. We can have peace."

The Great Hall was quiet for what felt like an eternity to Hiccup, though it was only a few minutes. He itched to break the silence, demand an answer, anything. But he kept his words to himself. He'd said enough, now he just had to wait for them to think over those words. Toothless shifted closer to Hiccup, and he gratefully slid his arm farther over his dragon's neck for more support. He was suddenly aware of how tired he was. Not just a little sleepy, but the painful, bone-deep ache of exhaustion. The adrenaline was wearing off. His stump burned with pain, and his good leg was trembling under his weight. The spot between his shoulder blades stung too, though for the life of him Hiccup couldn't recall why. Now that he was paying attention to his body he realized he felt light-headed.

_"Not good, not good,"_ Hiccup mutter under his breath, blinking away his blurry vision. Now was _not_ the time for this. "Keep me up, Toothless."

The Night Fury rumbled softly in acknowledgement.

Finally, someone spoke. Surprisingly, it was Norbert the Nutjob. He looked at Hiccup with a lopsided grin, showing off crooked teeth, one eye twitching like crazy and the other completely unblinking. "You got Loki's silver tongue in you, boy."

Hiccup was at loss as to whether he should say 'thank you' to or glare at the Hysteric chief. He didn't have to though, because Bearbone spoke up.

"Well, you've convinced me," the chief said. "But I think everyone should go back to their tribes and consider you're proposition. It is a big decision after all."

The other chiefs all nodded in concurrence.

"Our final decision can wait til the next Thing," Magadon agreed, though Hiccup thought he looked like he was also convinced about dragons, or at least ready to give them a chance. It was a comforting thought.

Hiccup breathed out a relieved sigh, leaning more on Toothless. It wasn't perfect, but it was a good reaction. There was still hope. "Of course, it doesn't have to be immediate. Take things slow."

He glanced over at the three hostile chiefs. He was pretty sure they'd be taking the time to figure out the best way to make his life difficult, not on whether or not they would accept the dragons.

"In the meantime," Bertha spoke up, turning toward Stoick. "I think it's time we got off your island, Stoick."

Hiccup zoned out as the chiefs all retrieved their weapons and bid each other respectful (and some tense) farewells, and instead concentrated on not falling over. As Hiccup slipped his dagger back into its place his head started to pound painfully and a few stars flashed in front of him. Hiccup blinked them away, and gripped Toothless harder. The dragon crooned in concern.

"I'm okay, bud," Hiccup assured him softly. "Just a little tired is all."

"I'd guess you're a little more than tired," came Stoick's voice.

Hiccup jumped and turned to look at his father with wide eyes. "Oh! D-…. I mean…"

"Relax," Stoick said. "I just came to help. You look like you're about to fall over."

Panic welled up inside Hiccup's chest as he mumbled, "I'm fine."

Stoick propped up a disbelieving eyebrow. "Of course you are. But since you don't know where everything is on Berk, you would still need help getting back to the healer's hut."

Hiccup inwardly groaned. He did know where everything was on Berk, but he wasn't supposed to as Thorir. "Alright."

His father reached out a hand to support him, but Toothless quickly butted in with a snarl at Stoick. He shoved his head through Hiccup's knees and he slid over the dragon's head and onto his neck for the second time that day.

"Sorry," Hiccup said a little nervously. "He's a bit protective."

Stoick watched the dragon warily, and Toothless glared back.

"Of course he is," Stoick said, shifted backward a little ways. He had his axe back, hanging from his belt, and his hand inched toward it.

Hiccup clutched tightly to Toothless's neck, hoping that neither his father nor his dragon would make a move against each other. Thankfully, they didn't. Stoick moved his hand away from the axe and Toothless tense muscles relaxed.

"Let's go then. I'm sure your friends are eager to see you." Stoick led the way out of the hall, Toothless following (though they kept a good two feet of distance between them).

"Yeah, I'm sure they are," Hiccup murmured.

He smiled, patting Toothless lightly on the neck. Things seemed to be working out.

* * *

**A/N: I don't even know what's happening with the chapter titles XD they're so weird. Just so you know, I'm not going write the accents. I think it'll be less painful for everyone if we just pretend their all speaking in cool accents. Anyway, this chapter originally was gonna have a lot more to it, but it was taking so long that I decided I'd save that stuff for a later chapter so you guys could get your update. Sincerest apologies for the delay :( Plz, review :)**

**Flybykid: Well, we'll see how long it lasts. Things are certainly going to get complicated though :P**

**blue mountain fairy: Sorry about the wait for the update. And I'm afraid I can't claim credit for the name Norbert the Nutjob. He was a chief in the books, so he's all Cressida Cowell's :)**

**faisyah865: Yes, Toothless was paying the most attention ;) and the other riders are back on the Wingback Isles at this point. They gotta take care of some things, which we'll be getting to soon.**

**sierrasteinbrecher: Me too... except there are a lot of things that I have to get in before then...**

**Guest: Thank you :)**

**Itban Fuyu: I know the feeling. Sorry this wasn't very rapid :( This one was a hard chap to write. Thank you! :D I always thought his voice was way too unique for people not to recognize him just cuz of a mask. I'm glad you liked it.**

**God of Spirits-Spirit Black: :D :D :D Thank you! And... here's even more tension. Maybe it'll wind down next chap... maybe...**

**the dragon1010: Heh, sorta.**

**Happy15: I'm glad you enjoyed it. No, Hiccup can't _technically_ understand Toothless. _Technically_ he's just guessing. But he's pretty good at it, in my opinion. ;) But I have to disagree about Stoick recognizing Hiccup solely by his voice. 1) While Hiccup's voice is pretty distinct, Stoick wouldn't think it was his son just because of the tone of his voice. 2) the accent covers up, and makes it seem doubtful that it's Hiccup. He's pretty good at that accent, so people assume it's real. Hiccup never had one, so no one thinks it's him. And 3) It's been a year since Stoick has heard his son's voice, not to mention they didn't do a lot of talking in the first place. Anywho, glad you like the story! :)**

**Bteam: First thanks for the reviews :) They made me happy. I'm sorry if you like Tuff better dumb, but this story requires him to have some brains. I like that he's friends with Hiccup too :) Thanks again!**

**Guest: here you go :)**

**That's all for now, folks! :)**


	12. Hiccup is Bipolar and Tuff is Not Mature

**Disclaimer: I AM DISCLAIMING!**

**Chapter 12**

**Hiccup is Bipolar and Tuffnut is Not Mature (Nor Will He Ever Be, At Least Not 100%)**

Even though Stoick had said he was taking Thorir to see his friends, he decided not to. The dragon rider was thoroughly exhausted and fighting just to stay upright on his dragon. By all rights Thorir shouldn't have been up so quickly. The young man had just lost a limb, not to mention been struck with Nadder spines. And he was on his feet- foot after only a week. Tougher Vikings stayed down for longer. On top of that he had gone through a rather stressful political meeting. So Stoick wasn't surprised in the least when the dragon rider finally slumped over on the Night Fury's neck.

"We should take him back to bed then, right dragon?" Stoick suggested to the Night Fury.

The dragon snorted at him, then crooned worriedly up at his rider.

"He'll be fine," Stoick assured the dragon, feeling _very_ strange making conversation with one of his sworn enemies. "Just needs rest. He shouldn't been up so early."

The dragon seemed to give an equivalent to a sigh, but Stoick couldn't be sure. As he turned their course back to the healer's hut he kept the dragon in the corner of his eye. He still didn't trust these beasts. Yet, he couldn't completely disregard all that Thorir had said. And the dragon _did_ seem to understand what was going on around it and maybe even showed some emotions.

Stoick glanced at the strange pair. A Viking and a dragon friends—was it really possible? This dragon seemed genuinely worried for his Viking, and the Viking fiercely protective of his dragon. It wasn't the first time Stoick had been presented with the idea, though…

Hiccup had tried to tell him; tell the whole village. But no one had listened to him, even with a docile Nightmare under his palm. Stoick wondered idly what would have happened if they had given Hiccup a chance. How differently would things have played out? But Stoick wasn't one to dwell on 'what if's and 'maybe's. Too much of that destroyed a person, he knew that from experience.

But there was one matter that had very much to do with the present. A lot of the things Thorir had said and a lot of things he had done reminded Stoick uncomfortably of Hiccup. When he had spoken of fidelity to his tribe, Stoick had to wonder. 'Thorir' hadn't shown anyone his face, and he was a rather small Viking. But then, so were many of his riders. Stoick saw a few differences; Thorir seemed to posses more confidence than Hiccup ever had, had an accent that seemed real to Stoick, and he rode a Night Fury instead of a Monstrous Nightmare. Honestly Stoick didn't know what to think. What would he do if Thorir _was_ Hiccup?

The healer's hut came into view and Stoick shook himself out of his thoughts, resolving to ask Thorir later to see what he could learn. Swinging the door open, Stoick allowed the dragon to walk in first, still carefully balancing his rider on his back. Stoick stepped forward to pull the small Viking off the dragon's back, but the Night Fury snarled at him when he got close.

"How else are you going to get him on the bed?" Stoick questioned the dragon irritably. "Dump him on? I hardly think that's good for his injuries."

The dragon glared at him but stopped snarling. Stoick took this as a reluctant sign of approval and picked Thorir up off the Night Fury's back. He was incredibly light. So light in fact that Stoick could probably pick him up with one hand easy.

The dragon lunged forward and thoughtfully pulled the rumpled covers back so Stoick could set him on the bed. Stoick could only stare for a moment. The dragon was taking _initiative_. Stoick gathered his wits and set Thorir down on the bed, watching with disbelieving eyes as the dragon took the blanket delicately in his teeth and pulled it up over his rider's chest.

The black offspring of lightning and death itself then curled around short bed and rested its head on the edge, right next to Thorir's head. He whuffed absently at Stoick.

The Viking Chief wasn't sure if it was a 'thank you' or a dismissal, but he left all the same. Closing the door softly behind him he heard the dragon start rumbling and purring softly. Stoick wondered if the beast was talking or singing. Both options seemed so implausible, but there was clearly more to dragons than most thought.

Stoick sighed and started to the forge to talk to Gobber, one thing on his mind. He really wished he had just listened a year ago. Then he might not be missing his only son.

* * *

Hiccup didn't wake up until the next afternoon. In the background he could hear the sound of a whetstone running along a blade. Warm breath brushed the side of his head. Hiccup shifted a little and noticed absently that he was lying on his stomach. He shoved Toothless's head away.

"That tickles," he murmured sleepily to the dragon.

Toothless snorted, and the creaking of the floor told Hiccup the dragon was standing up.

"You awake?" someone else asked.

Hiccup groaned and turned his face into the pillow. His leg was throbbing angrily. "No."

"C'mon, you can't sleep all day, lazy bones," the someone else said, poking him lightly in the shoulder.

Groaning again, Hiccup peeled his eyes open and blinked away the film of sleep over his eyes. He was met with huge toxic-green eyes and a pair of concerned blue ones. "Astrid?"

"Yep," Astrid replied with a smile. "Glad you're finally awake."

Hiccup frowned. "What are you doing here?"

Astrid propped up an eyebrow and drew the whetstone across her ax blade again. "Sharpening my ax."

"I can see that," Hiccup said dryly, making no move to raise his head from the pillow. He was comfortable where he was, thank you very much. "Any particular reason why you're doing that here?"

"Toothless was getting lonely," Astrid answered, smiling and patting the dragon on his shoulder. "I thought I'd keep him company."

Toothless purred and nudged Hiccup's shoulder. _Get up._

"I don't want to," Hiccup told him, burying his face in the pillow again.

Toothless growled lightly and pushed insistently against Hiccup's shoulder.

Hiccup shoved his dragon's head away and winced as the action pulled at the skin between his shoulder blades. "What happened to my back?" he asked Astrid.

"A Nadder got you," Astrid explained, looking faintly amused at Hiccup and Toothless's interactions. "The spines pierced through your armor, though just barely. We thought the poison would keep you out longer, but there must not have been much on those spines because it doesn't seem to be effecting you much."

"Well, it hurts," Hiccup mumbled. "I'd call that an effect."

"You aren't sick," Astrid countered. "You should be grateful, a lot of Vikings die from Nadder poison."

Hiccup yawned and his eyelids drooped. "Mmm, sure."

Toothless bumped Hiccup's head with his nose to wake him up again.

"Ugh, Toothless, do I have to?" Hiccup whined clutching the pillow.

Toothless snorted and turned to Astrid. Smiling briefly at the dragon, Astrid said, "Toothless is right, getting up would do you some good."

Hiccup glared. "Traitor."

Astrid laughed. "Whoever said I was on your side? Toothless and I have done a lot of bonding while you were snoring."

"Great," Hiccup moaned into the pillow. "Now I have _two_ mothers. That's way more than I ever wanted."

Astrid laughed again and stood up, setting down her ax. "C'mon, Hiccup, up you get."

Toothless made him roll over by continually poking him in the ribs, and then Astrid pulled him into a sitting position. Hiccup groaned but decided to hold onto his dignity and get up himself. "Where are we going?" Hiccup grumbled as Toothless pushed him onto his back again.

"To get fresh air," Astrid replied, holding out his helmet. "And then the forge. Gobber offered to make 'Thorir' a fake leg, at least a temporary one."

Hiccup took the helmet and pulled it on. He frowned down at the spot where his left foot should be and remarked, "You picked the wrong foot not to save, Toothless. I'll need to redo the rigging pedal."

Toothless snorted, _get over it_.

"Well, you match now," Astrid commented.

Hiccup narrowed his eyes at his dragon. "You really _were_ making things even, weren't you?"

Toothless snorted again, but they both knew that he didn't really mean it.

"C'mon, you two," Astrid said, smiling. "Let's go."

Toothless followed Astrid out the door, Hiccup balancing easily on his back.

"So, _Thorir_," Astrid began in a teasing tone. "What's the plan for the dragons?"

"Not sure yet," Hiccup admitted. "The Chiefs are going to give their final answer at the next Thing. But hopefully, integration. At the very least, the war is over."

Astrid shook her head, still smiling. "You say that like it's no big deal."

"Hey, I lost my foot! Of course it's a big deal," Hiccup replied, patting his left knee for emphasis.

"So, when do I get one?" Astrid questioned with a grin.

"You want a dragon?" Hiccup asked, not quite sure he believed what he was hearing.

Astrid raised her eyebrows. "I've kept your secret for a year, warned you about the tribes, and have been helping your riders since the battle, and you don't think I'm on your side?"

"It's not that," Hiccup said hurriedly. "I just… never thought you'd want your own dragon."

"You thought I'd be a dragon-killing shield maiden forever?" Astrid asked.

"Uh… no," Hiccup said, inwardly wincing, because that's _exactly_ what he'd thought. He wasn't sure why, it was silly now that he thought about it. It had simply never occurred to him.

Astrid sighed in exasperation. "You can't expect to take a girl on a flight—on a _Night Fury_—and expect her to forget she'd ever flown."

"Okay, okay, I get it," Hiccup backpedaled. "I'll get you a dragon."

Astrid grinned. "Good."

"A Nadder," Hiccup added after a moment's thought. "A female Nadder would be perfect for you."

"Why a Nadder?" Astrid asked, but Hiccup could tell from the look in her eye that she liked the idea.

"Competitive, fast, agile, and pretty," Hiccup listed without hesitation. "Just like you."

"You think I'm pretty?" Astrid said, her face innocent.

Hiccup felt his face heat up under his helmet. "Doesn't everyone? It's kinda a… an accepted thing. You're the best… at everything. Which, you know, includes…"

A harsh bark of dragon laughter from Toothless cut into his rambling, and Hiccup felt his blush deepen. _At least I'm wearing my helmet, so she can't see,_ Hiccup thought to himself. But looking over at Astrid, he was pretty sure it didn't matter if she could see his face. She was still struggling not to laugh at him.

"Stop laughing," Hiccup mumbled to Toothless, kicking the dragon halfheartedly with his good foot.

Once she got a handle on her laughter, Astrid mercifully changed the subject. "How come everybody knew my name? When you were still unconscious, all your riders already knew who I was."

"I told them about you when I got you letter," Hiccup responded. "Gave them a general idea of who you were, what you looked like, and how you knew who I was. So, if you were extra violent that probably gave you away."

Hiccup got a hard punch in the shoulder for that last bit.

"Ow!" He almost slid off Toothless from the force of her blow, but managed to right himself. "See what I mean?"

Toothless warbled lightly in agreement as they stopped in front of the forge entrance.

Hiccup rubbed his shoulder, and shot Astrid a playful glare. "You have anger issues."

"You're too sensitive," Astrid said dismissively, fighting against a smile.

"Just one of the many things you love about me," Hiccup joked, sliding of Toothless's back and steadying himself.

Astrid looked him up and down suggestively and said, "One of them." Then she walked into the forge without another word, swinging her hips.

"Wha—" Hiccup started, but that was all he could manage. He looked to Toothless for help. The dragon shrugged unhelpfully.

Hiccup shook his head. "Whatever, let's just go inside."

* * *

Strange things were happening these days. Change had been in the air for years now, but they'd been held in suspense for a year now, ever since Hiccup left. Gobber had been on edge ever since, waiting for that change. And now, here it was. Probably the biggest change anyone could deliver on the Viking world had slammed down on them in the space of a week. Dragons were not their enemies anymore.

But there was something else. Gobber was sure that the changes weren't finished. Their hero and his Night Fury weren't done revolutionizing the Barbaric Archipelago, leaving Vikings in shock as they went. Gobber was also desperately hoping Hiccup would show up somewhere. The Blacksmith was disappointed that Hiccup wasn't already in the thick of it, he'd always thought that's exactly where Hiccup would be; in the middle of everything.

Then Astrid came into the forge, distracting Gobber from his work. "Good afternoon, Gobber!" she greeted a little too cheerfully.

Gobber raised his eyebrow. Astrid had always been serious and a little reserved, but even more so in the last year, except with Ruffnut. It was strange to see her so upbeat. "Good afternoon, lass."

"I've brought Thorir, Gobber," Astrid said, motioning behind her. "He's here so you can see about making him a leg."

Gobber looked behind her and saw the masked Viking enter, leaning on his dragon for support. Gobber couldn't see much through the mask but he was pretty skilled at reading body language. His reading told him that Thorir was tense.

Gobber was tense too. Enemy or not, a dragon was a dragon, and Gobber wasn't inclined to get cuddly with them just yet. But Gobber tried to set that aside, for the sake of work, and attempted to be slightly friendly. "Well, good to meet you, Thorir. I'm Gobber, Berk's blacksmith."

Thorir nodded wordlessly.

"Well, come on over and sit, so I can take a look at that leg," Gobber said, waving him over while Astrid smiled encouragingly at Thorir.

"What's left of it," Thorir muttered under his breath, so quietly Gobber almost missed it.

"Och, don't complain, you got a good three fourths of it left," Gobber answered, grinning when Thorir jumped in surprise, evidently not expecting anyone to hear that.

Astrid chuckled, which was weird in and of itself, but then the _dragon_ laughed. Gobber could only stare as the unholy offspring of lightning made a huffing-growling sound that was unmistakably laughter. Gobber's thoughts were confirmed when Thorir swatted the dragon's ear (at least, Gobber thought it was an ear) and whined, "Don't laugh, Toothless."

"Toothless?!" Gobber exclaimed. Who would name a Night Fury _'Toothless'_?

Thorir looked up and now he was close enough for Gobber to see his green eyes widen with surprise. "What?"

"You named the 'unholy offspring of lightning and death' _'Toothless'_?!" Gobber, said, gobsmacked.

Thorir chuckled and patted the Night Fury—Toothless—on the head. "Oh, he's nothing but an overgrown kitten, Gobber. Besides..."

Here Thorir proceeded to open the dragon's mouth, even while the beast glared at him, and push the dragon's teeth into his gums. "See? He's toothless."

Gobber's eyes flickered between the calm young Viking and the irritated toothless Night Fury. "You're not worried that he'll bite your hand off?"

"He would never," Thorir laughed, and Toothless narrowed his eyes. Faster than Gobber could warn him, Thorir was knocked to the floor by the Night Fury and…

"Tho – "

… covered in dragon slobber.

"Toothl – ! Ew! No, Toothless! Agh!"

Astrid started snickering in the background, and Gobber could only watch in astonishment as one of the most feared dragons of all time covered Thorir's torso in a thick coating of saliva. The dragon made sure to slobber all over his helmet as well, making Thorir squeak when the goo got into the eye holes.

"No, Toothless!" Thorir squealed un-Vikingly, squirming underneath the dragon and pushing futilely against the dragon's chest. As he struggled the dragon got his nose into exposed neck; cue more disgusted sounds from Thorir.

The dragon's revenge lasted at least another two minutes in which Gobber continued to stare and Astrid collapsed against the wall giggling. At last Thorir got his breath and yelled, "Okay, I give in! You're not a kitten! You're ferocious!"

Mollified, Toothless sat back and allowed Thorir to catch his breath. The dragon rider sat up, dripping dragon spit. He glared at the dragon. "I hate you."

Toothless laughed at him.

In response, Thorir flicked some of the Night Fury's own slobber back into his face. The dragon jerked back in surprise, then glared at Thorir. He then proceeded to wash the saliva off his face with his paw—just like a cat.

Gobber finally broke out of his trance and decided it was time to move on. Stepping over, Gobber lifted Thorir off the floor and onto his feet by his arm. He was heavier than expected, but still extremely light for a Viking. Gobber helped him over to the bench and didn't let go until he was completely settled, straddling the bench with his missing foot easily accessible. When he pulled away his hand was covered in dragon slobber.

"Sorry," Thorir apologized, voice muffled by his mask, and began to wring slobber out of his shirt.

"Ack, it's nothing," Gobber said and grabbed a rag to wipe off the dragon goo. "Now, let's see what we can do about a peg for you."

Astrid left, presumably to go find Ruffnut, while Gobber measured the size of Thorir's stump and how tall the peg would need to be. The dragon settled along one of the walls and appeared to doze, but Gobber knew the beast was still watching them carefully; he knew because he was doing the same thing.

"You know, you're rather small for a Viking," Gobber commented as he worked.

Thorir tensed a little but said, "Yeah, I know."

"In fact, most of your group is little," Gobber mused, and asked in a joking manner, "Didja go around looking for the smallest Vikings you could find?"

Thorir snorted. "No. Just the misfits."

Gobber glance up at Thorir's emotionless black mask, knowing that this was the segway into the question he'd been wanting to ask for a long time, and continued cautiously. "Speaking of mistfits… you wouldn't have happened to run into a lad name Hiccup? Probably had a Monstrous Nightmare with him. Sarcastic, green eyes, smaller than you, sound familiar?"

"No," Thorir replied quickly, his tone terse. "It doesn't."

Gobber stood up, done with his measurements, and looked sternly down at the dragon rider. "People aren't generally my department, but we both know that's a boldface lie right there, Thorir."

Thorir's shoulders slumped, but he didn't rectify his answer.

Gobber didn't want to let the subject go, but he desperately needed to know. "Just… is he alive and well?"

Thorir hesitated and then said slowly, "I don't know about 'well' but… he's alive."

"Why wasn't he with your group of dragon riders?" Gobber probed, unwilling to let the topic go.

"Who says he wasn't?" Thorir asked sharply.

"I do," Gobber responded confidently. "You had two Monstrous Nightmares, and neither of them could've been Hiccup."

"How would you know?" Thorir asked curiously, and Gobber took it as a positive sign that he didn't negate his statement.

"Well, for starters, one of them was a girl," Gobber explained, his dry observation earning him a light chuckle. "And the other was a bit big for Hiccup. Even if he had grown that much since I last saw him, which I don't think he did, that other boy didn't carry himself the same way."

"You could tell he wasn't Hiccup by the way he walked?" Thorir said dubiously.

Unfazed by Thorir's doubt, Gobber nodded. "Of course. Your rider looked a bit arrogant. He walked like he was very self-confident and very self-centered. Hiccup had no self-confidence and not a selfish bone in his body, which you'd know if you'd met him. Plus he'd always be looking around, very aware of his surroundings. Your rider wasn't like that."

"Wow," Thorir said, sounding genuinely impressed.

"Well then? Where was Hiccup?" Gobber prodded.

"Er…" Thorir glanced at his dragon, who whuffed in response to some unspoken question, then said hesitantly. "Well, he doesn't like to stay in one place. He mostly keeps to himself and his dragon."

"Do you see him often?" Gobber asked.

Thorir shrugged, and Gobber got the distinct impression he was uncomfortable. "Often enough. Why?"

"Well…" Gobber trailed off, wondering what exactly he wanted to ask. For Thorir to send Hiccup home? To just give him a message? To know where he was? "Well, next time you see him, would you tell him that people don't hate him so much as he thinks?"

"I will," Thorir promised slowly. "But I doubt he'll believe that."

Gobber pressed his mouth into a thin line. "Well, then tell him _I_ don't hate him at all, and he's welcome here whenever."

Thorir didn't say anything for a moment, before finally answering. "I know he'll appreciate that."

Gobber grinned. "Good. Now, let's get to making that leg."

"Uh, actually, Gobber, I have a bit of a special request…"

* * *

Tuffnut wasn't usually one for talking, that was a Fishlegs thing and a Hiccup thing. But today, he found himself talking for _hours_. In fact, he spent most of the day talking. So much talking his throat got dry. What was he talking about? Well, just the last couple of weeks. He and Ruffnut found a secluded spot on the island, landed Staticzapboom, and swapped stories. Tuffnut went into great detail about Dragon Training Hiccup Style, and of course, how he ended up losing his awesome dreadlocks. And then Ruffnut brought him up to date about all the pranks she had pulled whilst he was gone. It turned out Astrid was actually a very good asset. The two girls never got caught because Astrid refused to go in without a foolproof execution and escape plan. And then Tuffnut told her all the things he'd learned that were actually cool about Hiccup (aside from his destructive powers during the dragon raids).

So, for the first time in his life, Tuffnut spent the day talking. Okay, it was just the morning and then a good portion of the afternoon. But that was still a lot of talking to Tuffnut. So he was a little bit glad that he was required not to talk/talk very little when they got back to the village.

"Hiccup and Astrid will probably be in the forge by now," Ruffnut told him as they walked into town. "Astrid said they were going to go see Gobber about a fake foot."

Tuffnut nodded under his helmet, and followed Ruffnut through Berk. They passed by the docks and saw that most of the other chiefs had already left, with only a few still packing up for their departure.

"Hey, guys!" Astrid called, appearing quite suddenly next to the twins.

Both Thorston's jumped. "Odin's beard, Astrid!" Tuffnut exclaimed. "Don't sneak up like that!"

Astrid rolled her eyes. "I've been looking everywhere for you guys. Where were you?"

"Talkin'," Ruffnut responded casually. "Is he up?"

"Yeah, he and Gobber are working on a prosthetic for him so that he can go home," Astrid explained. "I was gonna tell you guys then go find everyone else."

"Let's go find the others then!" Ruffnut declared and the three set off.

* * *

"Laddie, did you ever consider become a blacksmith?" Gobber asked as he stared at Hiccup's sketch.

Hiccup shifted a little, hoping Gobber wouldn't catch on to who he was, despite their earlier conversation about… himself. "Uh, I think I'll leave that to Hiccup," Hiccup replied carefully in his accent.

Gobber chuckled in wonderment. "Well, he's certainly been rubbing off on you. These details are amazing."

Hiccup wouldn't help but smile under his helmet. If only he knew. Wait, what if he did know? Gobber had said he didn't hate him… would it really do any harm? But then, he had just said, quite explicitly, that he _wasn't_ Hiccup; had outright lied to his Gobber's face. Maybe later…

"Well, let's build it then," Hiccup said instead.

The two of them spent the next few hours on 'Thorir's' prosthetic and a matching pedal for Toothless's rigging. Hiccup did his best not to be _too_ familiar with the inner workings of a forge, and every time he slipped up he brushed it off as spending time helping Hiccup and Drott make saddles and weapons and such. The sun was low on her downward slide by the time they finished. It wasn't perfect since they had rushed a little bit through the process, but it would last Hiccup and Toothless a while until Hiccup designed a new one. Drott had brought Toothless's rigging earlier and helped them attach (and adjust) the new pedal.

About that time the rest of Hiccup's scraggly gang burst into the forge, Ruffnut in the lead.

"H—hi, Thorir! They said I can't have a dragon until you say so!" Ruffnut complained.

"Uhhh…." was the intelligible sound Hiccup could manage.

"I don't think you need another destructive partner, lassie," Gobber said, before Hiccup could gather his wits.

"But Astrid wants a dragon too!" Ruffnut said, waving a hand back as Astrid.

"That may not be such a good idea," Gobber said, directing his comment half toward Ruffnut and half toward Hiccup.

Hiccup understood his reluctance. A dragon and a Thorston? Mayhem. Although, he'd already done that.

"Hey! You gave these loonies dragons," Ruffnut argued, gesturing at the rest of the dragon riders, though Hiccup knew she was really talking about Tuffnut.

"Uh, well…" Hiccup glanced at Gobber.

The old smith shrugged and stood up. "Well, I'm off to dinner. I'll let you figure this one out."

Once Gobber was out the door, Hiccup leaped at the opportunity to take his helmet off. Working in the forge was bad enough heat-wise, but the helmet just exacerbated the problem. As he wiped the sweat off his forehead he saw the rest of the dragon riders follow suit.

"Actually I've been already been thinking about that, Ruffnut," Hiccup said, setting the helmet in front of his on the bench.

"So I can have one?!" Ruffnut asked, eyes lighting up.

Hiccup chuckled at her reaction. He hated to burst her bubble, but this was important. "Eventually."

Ruffnut's face fell, and Astrid asked, "What do you mean 'eventually'?"

"I mean I have something I want you guys to do first," Hiccup elaborated. "The chiefs are all going to give me their official response at the next Thing, but I'm not sure if I've totally convinced my, uh, Chief Stoick."

"So you want us to try and make people a little more favorable toward dragons," Astrid finished.

Hiccup nodded.

Ruffnut looked torn between accepting an important job and wanting to get a dragon _now_.

"Then, after the Thing, you guys can get dragons without being labeled traitors," Hiccup added.

"That's half the fun though!" Ruffnut exclaimed.

Hiccup looked helplessly at Tuffnut. Ruffnut's twin was nodding along with his sister's comment. But then Lodin elbowed him for Hiccup and he snapped out of it.

"Oh, uh…" Tuffnut stumbled, then punched Ruffnut in the shoulder. "I'm the traitor! We can't both be traitors!"

"Why not?" Ruffnut said petulantly.

"Because… well… because… " Tuffnut said, but he was unable to think of a response. So, he did what anyone would who knew the twins would expect. He punched her in the face.

"Hey!"

Cue full blown wrestling match. The rest of the dragon riders looked faintly alarmed while Hiccup and Astrid just rolled their eyes. So predictable. And to think, Hiccup thought Tuffnut might have matured past this point. That was obviously too much to hope for.

"Uh, should we separate them?" Aesa asked uncertainly as the twins grappled.

Hiccup sighed and caught Astrid's eye. Through unspoken agreement they both yelled, "GUYS!" in their best large-and-in-charge voices. Surprisingly, it worked.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut looked up from the floor and said, "What?"

Hiccup sighed again. "Just do this one thing for me, Ruff? Please?"

Ruffnut huffed and got off her brother. "Fine. Since you asked nicely. But I better get a really cool dragon."

Hiccup smiled in exasperated fondness. "Sure, Ruff, whatever you want."

* * *

With the consent of Chief Stoick, the dragon riders stayed one more night on Berk. They went to bed early, got up early, and left before the sun completely cleared the horizon. Well, most of them went to bed early. Tuffnut couldn't exactly pass up the opportunity to pull a prank with Ruffnut.

* * *

**A/N: I'M SORRY! I'M REALLY REALLY REALLY SORRY! I didn't mean to leave you guys hanging for so long. Time just got away from me :/ I'll try not to do that to you guys again. Ugh, life. So... please don't kill me? Anyway... I'm at a bit of a crossroads with this story. one guest pointed out that it is possible that I could lose interest in this fic and not-pretty things would happen. Now, despite my initial response being "pft, I would never do that", they do have a point. It happened with a few fics from my previous fandoms. So you guys have 2 options...**

**Option1: I can wrap up this story in 1 or 2 chapter, reveal Hiccup and Tuffnut's identities, get the dragons more or less accepted by the Vikings and on their way to integration, and maybe throw in some Hicctrid for ya. Then you can get a satisfying ending and wash your hands of this AU. _Or..._**

**Option2: I can continue this story into the great unknowns of my evil plot bunnies (trust me, some of them are really _Evil_). You'll get more Tuff/Skrill/Hic/Tooth adventures, probably some angst, lotsa action for sure, Alvin the Treacherous, general grief for our favorite dragon riders, maybe Valka and Drago if I can fit 'em in, and someone may or may not be crowned king *shrugs* It could happen.**

**Option1.5(the one you didn't see coming:P): Or I can wrap up this story in 1 or 2 chapters and leave it open for a sequel that you have about a 50/50 chance of actually getting. It'll be a little more resolved than option2 and a little less than option1.**

**This is entirely up to you guys. I'm game for option2 if you are, but fine with option1/1.5 if you would rather. I have plenty of other plot bunnies running around. You can give me your thoughts in a review or go vote in the poll I'm gonna set up on my profile. It's all up to you. Thanks for sticking with me this far, guys!**

**angryhenry: Thanks :)**

**blue mountain fairy: Aw, thanks *blushes***

**sierra: Did I explain everything? And yes, it was fun to humiliate Dagur a little :P And, to be honest, I'm still on the fence about when Stoick finds out. I'm still working on that.**

**hiccupisnotuseless: Hmm, I actually never thought of making Dagur and Norbert related. I honestly just never thought of it. I'll see if I can work it in somewhere, but it may not be relevant, we'll see. I'm glad you're enjoying Tuff :) Not much of him in this chapter unfortunately, but hopefully I can get that fixed soon. I have Gobber, here but I'll see about putting in a POV from Snotlout :)**

**61349: Yep, my thoughts exactly.**

**faisyah865: Heh *gulps* please don't hurt me! *whimpers* It's all school's fault...**

**NTYTekHTTYDFan: Thanks :D  
**

**Guest: Hmm, you make a good point. But adding characters like Skauldy will require more plot. We'll see what everyone else thinks. Thanks for your input :)**

**Flybykid: Haha, you're welcome. It was fun to put Dagur down. Honestly, I'm still working out exactly when Hiccup's identity will get revealed... And, yeah, that's probably it. Just goes to show how weird my mind is though :P**

**dragoncreators: :D Of course he is. He's Hiccup :D**

**God of Spirits-Spirit Black: I'm wondering the same thing too...**

**Itban Fuyu: Hmm, I may end up doing a little more of a beating later... But I'll need to build up to it ;) So Gobber asked about Hiccup, but I think Stoick might ask next chapter. Maybe. We'll see ;) I'm so glad my updates make you happy. Your review make _me_ happy!**

**Bteam: :D**

**JercyFics14: Haha, well, sorry, but I already named it. Thanks for your input though :)**

**ramen-luver101: S'okay, I'm glad you're liking them :D**

**Guest: In the movie he's 15 (he's 20 in HTTYD2 and that's 5 years later, so math), and this story is about a year after the movie, so he's 16. :) Thanks for your review.**

**Rayne Arianna Maranochi: Thanks? I'm glad you're interested.**

**Spiros The Dragon Whisper: No, pressure is good! Pressure reminds me to get off my lazy backside and write XD Sorry, I just forget that people actually like my story and wait for it like I do with some stories. Again, apologies for the wait.**

**Reko-Luna: I've been thinking about her. Still trying to figure how exactly I want to fit her in. Obviously they can do a lot of a flying around without running into her though, since Hiccup had been exploring for the better part of 5 years and never even heard of her.**

**twilightserius: More will come :)**


	13. Hah Sleep No

**Disclaimer: I don't even know why I'm putting these on every chapter...**

**Chapter 13**

**Hah. Sleep. No.**

It was late in the evening by the time Hiccup and the others arrived home the Wingback Isles. By that time Hiccup was utterly exhausted. He groaned and blinked hard to stay awake. Seriously, how much time did a Viking need to recover?! He'd obviously have to get used to walking differently, but did he really need so much sleep?

Toothless cooed worriedly at him.

"I'm fine, bud," Hiccup reassured him. "Everything's alright up here."

Hiccup wasn't sure if Toothless believed him, but he turned his focus to flying. As they came in for the landing Hiccup moved his injured limb and Toothless's fake fin immediately retracted. Hiccup winced as the action pulled at the tender flesh of his wound. Unfortunately, there was no help for it. He couldn't redo the rigging so that his right foot controlled it, or at least he hadn't had the time. So it was necessary. Still hurt like Hel though.

"Hiccup!" Hall cried in greeting, sounding uncharacteristically relieved to see him.

Hiccup frowned as Toothless tucked his wings in and dropped gracefully onto the island. Hall usually had everything under control and even enjoyed telling people what to do (not that he would admit it). What could he possibly be worried about?

"Hall," Hiccup greeted, sliding gingerly off Toothless's back. "What's the matter?"

"Dragons," Hall said breathlessly. "They followed us."

"What do you mean they – " Hiccup started, but trailed off when he followed Hall's pointing finger. He didn't know how he'd missed them before, even in the waning light. Dozens of dragons were perched all over the island; on top of their stone houses, curled up on sun-warmed rocks, wandering around, or dozing on the grass. A few Terrors fluttered above the dragons, generally causing a nuisance to each other by bumping or play-wrestling.

"From the Nest?" Aesa asked, stepping over to them.

"Yep," Hanna confirmed from where she stood with Cutter.

"Once all the Vikings were getting ready to leave and we'd done all we could, we left," Hall explained.

"And they all up and followed us," Torfi added before Hall could finish.

Hall shot him a dark look for the interruption, but Torfi only shrugged unapologetically.

Tofa rolled her eyes at her brother and continued, "And they're not just here. They've also settled on the two wing islands."

"But these can't be all of them," Lodin said, joining the conversation. "There were thousands at the Nest, these could only be a few hundred."

"At least," Arni muttered off to the side.

Hall shrugged. "I don't think it's all of them. The others must have dispersed. I don't know why all of these are here."

Hiccup frowned and ran his eyes over the mass of dragons. He wasn't sure either. Why would this bunch separate from the rest and follow them?

"They look like they're settling down for a good stay," Tuffnut commented.

"I hope not," Drott responded. "I don't think we have the space or the resources to take care of them."

"You know, Tuff," Hiccup said, glancing back at Tuffnut who was leaning against Static's shoulder. "I think you're right."

"Really?" Aesa asked, gazing at the dragons herself. "But why would they do that?"

"Maybe they thought we were really cool, fighting and stuff," Tuffnut remarked jokingly.

"Yeah, that's exactly what they were thinking when we started sticking our swords in them," Arni said derisively.

Hiccup inwardly cringed at the reminder. The image of that lovely blue Nadder flashed in his mind. Those dragons were innocent, only forced to attack by the Queen. They hadn't needed to die. If only they had attacked sooner, maybe that could have been avoided…

"Arni," Aesa scolded. "There's no need to talk like that."

"Still," Lodin said. "I don't think they thought we were cool. Maybe… actually, I have no idea. Don't mind me."

"Actually," Hiccup said, tilting his head thoughtfully. "I think Tuffnut is right again."

A chorus of "what?"s and "you do?"s ensued after his statement, and he got bewildered looks from everyone around him, except for the dragons.

"Uh… I was just kidding," Tuffnut said.

Hiccup grinned at him. "But I still think you're right. We killed the Red Death, the dragon in charge, the queen, so the dragons needed a new dragon to be in charge. So they followed the ones who defeated her."

"But then why didn't all of them follow us?" Hall asked.

"That I'm not so sure about," Hiccup admitted. "But it's all I've got."

"Well, they're a bit unruly," Torfi piped up. "And we haven't been able to get them to calm down."

"We've been able to approach a few and get on friendly terms with them," Tofa said. "But that's nowhere near enough to get all of them to calm down."

"And a lot of them are injured," Hanna added. "Plus we're pretty sure they're all underfed."

"We'll start with the injured dragons first," Hiccup decided immediately. "Have you been able to approach them at all?"

"No," Hanna answered. "They fly away if they can or get panicky if they can't. We're afraid they'll hurt themselves even more."

"Show me," Hiccup ordered.

But here Aesa stepped in. "I don't think so. You're an injured dragon yourself there, and you need rest."

Hiccup frowned. "I rested on the way here."

"Not nearly enough," Aesa countered. "You're still healing. You need rest."

"But these dragons might need immediate attention," Hiccup argued, ready to push past her.

Aesa place a hand on his chest to stop him. "We'll make sure they're injuries are nothing life threatening while you go and rest."

Toothless warbled in agreement, nudging Hiccup lightly in the shoulder.

Hiccup reached up to weakly push her hand away. He _was_ tired, but the dragons were more important than his rest. "But injuries shouldn't be left alone, and it's been a week already. I need to help them."

Aesa kept her hand firmly where it was and said resolutely, "Absolutely not. If their lives are in danger we'll make an exception, but you need your rest. You can help them tomorrow."

"Their injuries could be worse by tomorrow," Hiccup said, scowling irritably at the brunette Viking. "I need to help them now."

"They will be fine until tomorrow," Aesa said, unwavering. "You're in no shape to go traipsing off for hours trying to calm down dragons." To emphasize this point Aesa pushed him back into Toothless with the hand that he still hadn't been able to remove from his chest.

Hiccup hated how easily his body responded to Aesa's lightest pressure, but it was out of his control. He had to wrap an arm over Toothless's head to steady himself. His knees were trembling by now, and his leg burning, but he was determined to ignore it. "I can do it."

"Without hurting yourself?" Aesa questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll be fine," Hiccup said. "The dragons are more important right now."

"No, _you_ are more important right now," Aesa said, poking a finger in his chest.

Hiccup stumbled back a little again, even though Toothless was supporting him.

"The dragons need you fit, ready, healed, and aware as soon as possible," Aesa continued. "For all our sakes."

Determined to win the argument, Hiccup met Aesa's steely brown eyes. Aesa glared back, steadfast in her decision. Hiccup opened his mouth to tell her that he was going to do it anyway, but she cut him off before he could start.

"If you don't go willingly I _will_ have Drott carry you back to your house and lock the doors."

"What?!" Hiccup said, thrown off-guard. Aesa never threatened _anybody_. She preferred to talk people around to her side of thinking or respect their decision. Why was she getting worked up over his injury? It wasn't that big a deal!

"I will," Aesa repeated resolutely.

"I'm not – oomf!" Hiccup broke off as Drott, apparently deciding not to wait for the go-ahead from Aesa, stepped up and flipped Hiccup onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Drott!" Hiccup squeaked in surprise, now hanging upside down against Drott's back.

Hearing a few snickers from the other Vikings, Hiccup felt his face burn and he squirmed against Drott's hold. "Drott! Put me down!"

"Sorry, no can do, Hiccup," Drott said, striding toward the stone houses.

Aesa and Toothless followed, the former smiling smugly and the latter snorting in exasperation.

"Why not?" Hiccup demanded, still squirming, and wondered if it would be a bad idea to actually kick Drott.

"Because we care about you," Drott answered easily.

"Ugh, well, stop it. It's annoying," Hiccup said, in complete contrast to what he was actually feeling. His chest felt warm and he had to hide a smile.

Aesa chuckled and Toothless sighed.

"Deal with it, my friend," Drott said. "You're going to bed and not getting up to help any dragons until tomorrow."

Hiccup groaned. _That's four mothers, and counting._

* * *

"You know, he's gonna be mad when he finds out that we let him sleep so long."

"Let him be mad, Tuff," Aesa said firmly, brushing a sweaty lock of hair out of her eyes. "He needs the rest, however much he denies it."

"Just making sure you know." Tuffnut shrugged and slipped off his vest. The sky was cloudless, letting the sun freely beat down on them. If they were sitting still, then the cool, early winter air would have negated the effects of the sun. But, as you may have guessed, they weren't sitting still. At the moment they were catching their breath. One of the injured dragons, a Zippleback, had given them quite a chase. They rest of the riders had paired off to try to calm the other injured dragons.

"I don't know what to do," Aesa said finally, waving a hand at the skittish Zippleback. "If he won't let us help him, then there's nothing we can do but wait for Hiccup to get up and deal with this one himself. We need to help the other dragons." Aesa didn't sound particularly happy about it, but she was resolute anyway. She sighed and turned away. "Come on, Tuff."

Tuffnut frowned and looked at the Zippleback. One head was glassy-eyed and a lump of scales on the side of its head were swollen and broken. Both of its forelegs were in bad shape, clearly painful to walk on. In fact, the whole dragon was covered in scars from the Battle of the Red Death. The Zippleback had taken a thorough beating, barely escaping. The only part unscathed was its wings, which was part of the problem. The dragon just flew away whenever Tuffnut and Aesa got close.

"Uh… you go ahead," Tuffnut said. "I wanna try a little more. Can you go on your own?"

Aesa looked over at him and shrugged. "Sure, do whatever you want. I can handle it. You have fun. Just give me a ride back to the main island."

Tuffnut asked Staticzapboom to give Aesa a ride and waved goodbye to the pair of them, then turned his attention back to the Zippleback. The dragon regarded him warily. Tuffnut sat down right where he was, facing the dragon.

"You're injured, you should probably sit down too," Tuffnut told it. "I'm sitting down too, see? I won't be getting up to chase you around. Let's just talk, you and me."

The dragon only stared, and for a moment Tuffnut thought the dragon didn't have the slightest clue what he was talking about. Then the bright green Zippleback slowly lowered itself onto the ground, clear-eyed head watching him carefully.

"So…" Tuffnut began, unsure of where to go with this. He wasn't even sure what he was doing. "Um… well… you're injured. Did we do that or was it a Viking warrior?"

The dragon didn't reply. One head cocked curiously and the other snorted green gas.

"Right. You can't actually answer me," Tuffnut said, shifting on the ground. "Well… er. I'm just gonna talk then."

About what? Well, Tuffnut decided he'd talk about himself, which was almost synonymous with talking about Ruffnut. So Tuffnut explained what a twin was and then went on detailing some of their most clever and fun pranks. After a few minutes, Staticzapboom returned. He curled around behind Tuffnut, resting while Tuffnut talked.

By the time Tuffnut reached the point, a little over a year ago, when just before he and Ruffnut had joined dragon training with the others, the exhausted Zippleback had dozed off.

"My story was that boring, huh?" Tuffnut asked the dragon, knowing that the dragon deserved its rest and also that it probably couldn't hear him.

But, surprisingly, one head blinked lazily at him and groaned.

Tuffnut stood up carefully, but the Zippleback didn't react. So Tuffnut turned to Staticzapboom and rummaged through the bags for the bandages.

"Ah ha!" Tuffnut exclaimed, pulling out the bandages and the salve. Good thing Aesa had left some for him. Facing the Zippleback again, Tuffnut approached slowly, but again the dragon didn't react. Before Tuffnut knew it he was bandaging the Zippleback's scratches and wounds. Staticzapboom helped, bringing him buckets of water so that Tuffnut could wash the dirt and grime out of the cuts.

It took almost an hour. Tuffnut and Aesa had approached this dragon first because of how wounded it was, but after another hour of chasing it Aesa had left. So Tuffnut had a generous wedge of work cut out for him. He kept talking as he went and by the time he was finished both the Zippleback and Staticzapboom were fully caught up on his life story.

"There!" Tuffnut said finally, sitting back. "All done."

The Zippleback now resembled a mummy, but it would heal safely now. The dragon gurgled happily and both heads snaked over to nuzzle him.

"Ah, you're welcome," Tuffnut told them, patting both heads.

Staticzapboom growled, shoving his head between the Zippleback's and Tuffnut.

"Don't be jealous," Tuffnut laughed, rubbing Staticzapboom's chin. "I'll still ride you. But he can be my friend too… or they. How does that work?"

Staticzapboom grumbled but didn't growl at the Zippleback. The other dragon snorted in response to Tuffnut's question.

"Uh… I don't know what that means," Tuffnut admitted. "I'll just name both your heads… so how about Belch! Belch and… erm… this is tough. Bomb? Bang?"

The Zippleback cocked both heads at him.

Tuffnut frowned. "I'll have to think about this."

The Zippleback crooned lightly.

Tuffnut looked up at the sky. It was almost noon! "Oh Odin!" Tuffnut exclaimed, leaping to his feet. "We gotta get going. Other dragons to help and stuff!"

Staticzapboom straightened and shook out his wings while Tuffnut gathered up the healing supplies. There wasn't much left over, only a bandage and a little bit of salve left in the bottom of the jar.

"We'll have to get some more of this stuff," Tuffnut said as he scrambled gracelessly into the saddle with the jar and bandage tucked under one arm. He hooked himself in with the other hand and turned to say goodbye Belch and the unnamed head.

But the injured Zippleback was climbing to his feet and stretching its own wings.

"Wait, wait!" Tuffnut said, holding up his hands. "You guys can't come! You need to heal!"

But the Zippleback just stretched a little more and turned to look expectantly at Tuffnut.

"Er, well, okay," Tuffnut conceded. "But rest as soon as we land, okay?

One head snorted and the other nodded.

"Er, okay." Tuffnut tapped Staticzapboom lightly on the shoulder and the Skrill shot into the air.

The Zippleback followed immediately behind. It didn't seem to have any trouble flying.

"We're going back to the main island," Tuffnut told Staticzapboom.

The Skrill obligingly aimed for the main island, which was still full of injured and displaced dragons.

* * *

Hiccup woke up to darkness. He frowned. That couldn't be right. He usually woke up to the morning light or Toothless's bright green eyes and moonlight—but never complete and total darkness. It was very strange, and Hiccup's groggy mind considered this phenomenon for a few minutes before he awoke fully. When he did, he realized quickly that he was lying against Toothless. He could feel the dragon's steady breathing against his back and the slight rise and fall of his chest. Toothless's foreleg was also acting as his pillow. The cause of complete darkness was the wing enfolded over him like a tent.

"Toothless," Hiccup whispered, tapping the dragon's wing lightly. "C'mon, Toothless."

The Night Fury shifted and whuffed sleepily.

Hiccup smiled and tapped his wing again. "Toothless, wake up. What time is it?"

One of Toothless's toxic green eyes opened, and regarded Hiccup drowsily, as if to say _What? What do you want?_

"C'mon, let me up, Toothless," Hiccup said, pushing at the dragon's wing to get his point across.

Toothless groaned, but instead of letting Hiccup out, he wrapped himself tighter around his rider so that his nose was brushing the top of Hiccup's head and his tail brushing his foot.

"Toothless!" Hiccup groaned, in much the same manner as the dragon just had. "Let me up, bud."

Toothless crooned a sound Hiccup could've sworn was 'no' and shut his eyes again.

"Toothless!" Hiccup exclaimed. This time he pushed harder at Toothless's wing, determined to be released. He tried to sit up and immediately regretted the action, the Nadder wound on his back twinged with pain and then his leg felt like it was set on fire when he bumped it against Toothless's tail. He didn't mean to, but the surprise of the pain made him cry out.

Toothless instantly reacted by lifting his wing and scanning his human in alarm, searching for the source of his pain.

A burst of blinding daylight assaulted Hiccup's eyes and he smashed them shut, almost asking Toothless to lower his wing again.

The dragon crooned worriedly, nudging Hiccup's shoulder in concern.

"I'm okay, bud," Hiccup said, pushing himself up into a sitting position more cautiously this time. "It's just…" Hiccup trailed off, blinking against the harsh sunlight. He braved the brightness for a few seconds until his eyes finally adjusted. The first things he saw were his legs stretched out in front of him. Oh yeah. He only had one and a half of those left.

Toothless nudged him again to get his attention, still crooning worriedly.

Hiccup put on a smile, and patted the dragon lightly on his foreleg. "Yeah, I'm fine." He looked back at his foot and lack of one and pressed his lips together. Toothless curled his tail lightly around him again and Hiccup managed a real smile this time. "I guess we really do match now, don't we, bud?"

Toothless snorted and gave him a big, sloppy, wet lick across his cheek.

"Ew! Toothless! Why?!" Hiccup exclaimed, grinning as he wiped off the saliva.

Toothless just looked smugly at him.

"Wait, what time is it?" Hiccup said looked around. It was broad daylight. Hiccup groaned. How long had they let him sleep?

He started to push himself unsteadily up on his one foot but Toothless was there first, standing up and pressing himself up against Hiccup's side as a support.

"Thanks, bud," Hiccup said grabbing onto Toothless's neck and letting the dragon pull him up.

He quickly located his make-shift prosthetic he'd created in Gobber's forge two days ago (assuming he hadn't been asleep more than a day). Hiccup and Toothless made their way out with the Night Fury insisting as being used as a crutch.

When he stepped out of the house, the first thing Hiccup saw was the rainbow represented in dragon scales and skin. The island was covered in dragons of all shape, size, and shade. Hiccup was pretty sure there wasn't a single color unrepresented in the mass of dragons.

"Wow…" Hiccup breathed, scanning his eyes over the scene. It seemed half the dragons were dozing; half of the remaining half were wrestling and play fighting. Then a few were flying around aimlessly or just exercising their wings.

"Hey, Hiccup!"

Hiccup looked toward the sound of his name and saw Tuffnut and Static coming down to land. "Hey, Tuff, Static."

Toothless warbled a greeting as well.

"Finally up, huh?" Tuffnut said, sliding off Static's back.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "I would've been up earlier."

Tuffnut raised his hands in surrender. "Hey, wasn't my idea! Aesa insisted on letting you sleep and Toothless agreed with her."

Hiccup sighed. There was nothing he could do about it now. A bandaged Zippleback cautiously approaching Tuffnut from behind caught Hiccup's eye. "Made a new friend, Tuff?" he asked.

"What?" Tuffnut followed his line of sight to the dragon. "Oh, yeah, I did. Haven't decided on a name yet."

Hiccup smiled and shook his head. "Just don't involve Lodin and Hall again. I'd like a little peace and quiet.

Tuffnut shrugged in a way Hiccup knew meant no promises and changed the subject. "So, what's your plan, Chief?"

"Dragons first," Hiccup replied, patting Toothless lightly on the head. "We'll discuss what might happen at the Thing later, but dragons first. We need to make sure they're all taken care of."

"You got it, Chief," Tuffnut said. "I was just on my way to get some bandages and find the next injured dragon."

"Great," Hiccup said, and the two started walking, the three dragons following behind.

Hiccup made it three hesitant steps before Toothless reappeared by his left side. "I can do it," Hiccup insisted and took another step without him, determined to at least start walking on his own. Of course, things never worked out that easily for him and his bad leg buckled underneath him.

Toothless lurched forward and caught him on his head again.

"Er, later I guess," Hiccup mumbled, straightening carefully and still using Toothless for support.

Toothless snorted in what Hiccup presumed was exasperation.

"You'll get there," Tuffnut said, patting his shoulder.

Hiccup looked over at Tuffnut, expecting to see sarcasm or even his maniacal grin. But all he saw was genuine sympathy. It was so weird.

"You keep surprising me, Tuff," Hiccup said without thinking.

Ah, there was that grin. "That's the idea!" Tuffnut exclaimed, grin splitting his face. "I am very mysterious…"

Hiccup laughed at Tuff's 'I am mysterious face' and started hobbling forward. "Sure, you are, Tuff."

Static and the Zippleback followed them eagerly as the two gathered supplies. Then they mounted their dragons and flew up until they could see the whole of their three little islands. From there they located each pair of dragon riders, all tending to or approaching wounded dragons.

"You know," Tuffnut commented, leaning sideways on Static to see around the dragon's head. "If they decide to stay it's going to get really cramped around here."

"I know," Hiccup said, frowning. "Glide us in a circle, bud. I want to see everything."

Toothless obliged, turned in a wide circle. Static copied next to him and the Zippleback followed behind them.

"Maybe we can build over the water," Hiccup mused, eyeing the distance between the little wing islands and the main back island. "We'll have to see how deep the water is though. Even then, wood might be our only option and dragons don't really deal well with that."

"What about that huge rock?" Tuffnut asked.

"What huge rock?" Hiccup echoed with a frown.

Tuff waved a hand at a huge mountain of rock to the left of their islands.

"Oh, that huge rock," Hiccup said. "It's just a huge rock. The sides are too steep to really do anything on and the ledges are small and few. Believe me, we looked it over when we first got here."

"What if you could get into it?" Tuffnut asked. "Like the Red Death's mountain."

"If only, Tuff, but this one isn't quite so useful," Hiccup responded.

"Are you sure?" Tuffnut wheedled, grinning his maniac grin again.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, "Yes, T—" A commotion below accompanied by shouting caught his attention. He narrowed his eyes but couldn't make out exactly what was happening.

Frowning, Hiccup motioned for Tuffnut to follow him and changed gears on the tailfin (wincing). Toothless, already knowing where Hiccup wanted to go, dove straight for the hullabaloo. They arrived in seconds with Toothless snapping his wings opening and dropping gracefully to the ground. Hiccup slid off immediately and took in the scene as Tuffnut, Static, and the Zippleback landed behind them.

Lodin was sitting on the ground, clutching his bleeding upper arm. In front of him Hanna had her arms spread wide trying to calm down a huge red Nadder. "Calm down!" she was shouting. "It's okay!"

The dragon's eyes were wild with fear, and it was snorting fire. Its teeth were sparking with its fire like a Zippleback and it was hopping sideways, forwards, backwards, and sideways again, squawking loudly.

"Hanna, step back," Hiccup ordered, taking a step forward himself. "Toothless, you stay back too."

Hanna stepped back immediately, expression relieved but still worried. Toothless grumbled but stayed where he was as Hiccup took another halting step toward the dragon.

He heard Tuffnut say, "Static, go get Aesa." Satisfied the Tuffnut would take care of Lodin and Hanna, Hiccup focused all his attention on the Nadder, looking for what had him so panicked.

"Hey, hey," Hiccup called softly. He couldn't hear himself over the Nadder's distressed calls, but he knew the dragon could. They had a sharp sense of hearing. "It's alright," he continued gently. "I'm here to help you."

The Nadder screeched at him, stumbling backwards and wings flailing wildly. Hiccup's eyes were immediately drawn to the dragon's legs. The dragon was favoring his right leg which had red blood streaming down the side, glinting in the afternoon sunlight.

"Just relax," Hiccup told the dragon, taking another limping step forward.

Screeching again, the Nadder swung his tail around and shot four spines at him. Hiccup's reaction was sluggish but he managed to stumble sideways and away from the projectiles. He ended up falling to the ground, but the Nadder's clumsily aimed spines missed.

Toothless roared in worry, and Hiccup turned and threw up a hand to tell him stop. "No, Toothless! I'm fine. Stay back."

The Night Fury growled, but stayed where he was. Hiccup briefly saw Aesa arriving on Static before he turned back to the red Nadder, surging unsteadily but quickly to his one foot and tentatively balancing himself with his prosthetic.

The red Nadder was still flailing its wings, and panic shown in its eyes.

"Just relax," Hiccup said, holding his hands slowly in front of him. "See? No weapons here… Red. How about I call you 'Red'? I know it's not glamorous or anything, but it's all I can think of right now." As he spoke, Hiccup took two steps forward, praying his bad leg wouldn't give.

Red ducked his head, eyeing Hiccup with his panicked eyes. He whimpered fearfully, fluttering lightly but not leaving the ground, and he stumbled sideways a little.

"Hey there," Hiccup said, twisting to face the dragon again, and took another step. "Got a bad leg? Me too, Red. Want to let me have a look?"

Red squawked again, not so loud as he was when Hiccup first arrived but still clearly in fear. His wings were stretched out and bobbing up and down, like he wished he was flying. But why wasn't he?

Hiccup scanned the dragon again. From his angle he saw a long gash along the dragon's tail, splitting several of the spines. That explained the Nadder's off aim and at least part of the panic. He couldn't properly defend himself.

"It's alright, Red," Hiccup assured him gently, limping forward. "We won't hurt you. We're friends."

Red's wings bobbed a little more but finally steadied, though the Nadder still held them out. At the sight of Red's mangled left wing, Hiccup's heart lurched in his chest. Red was completely grounded, maybe permanently.

"No wonder you're so panicked," Hiccup whispered.

Red crooned sadly, head lowering.

Biting his lip, Hiccup looked into the dragons fearful, defeated eyes. "Don't give up, Red. I'll find a way to get you into the sky again."

Red either didn't understand or didn't believe him. He dropped his head lower and his wings drooped until they brushed the ground.

"I swear, Red, you'll fly again," Hiccup said, limping forward a few steps, hoping the dragon would believe him. Unfortunately, his haste caused him to stumble and his bad leg to buckle again. Red pitched forward unsteadily on his own bad leg and barely caught Hiccup on his snout, much like Toothless had done earlier.

Hiccup froze. This wasn't exactly his plan, but it worked fine. Red didn't react badly under his touch, just lifted him up so he could get his feet again. Once he was on his own two feet again Hiccup kept his hand on Red's chin, running his fingers lightly across the dragon's soft-scaled chin.

Red's pupil's widened and he sniffed Hiccup curiously. He grew more curious and nudged Hiccup's chest and shoulder, snuffling him.

Hiccup chuckled and scratched the dragon's chin a little more bravely now that dragon had made no move to panic again. "What do you smell, there, Red? Overprotective Night Fury?"

Toothless roared from over with everyone else as if to say, _I can hear you!_

Hiccup chuckled again, and Red nudged him shyly. Now that the Nadder wasn't panicking, Hiccup could see pain clear in the way the dragon squinted and the glassy look to his eyes. He still looked sad too.

Hiccup suddenly remembered that Nadders were particularly social creatures, and an idea came to him. Turning to where he'd left the others, Hiccup was surprised to see that not only had Aesa arrived, but Hall, Torfi, Tofa, and Drott too. Only Arni was absent.

"Hey, guys," Hiccup called out to them, calmly so as not to startle Red. "Come over here."

"All of us?" Hanna asked curiously.

"All of you. Dragons too," Hiccup confirmed. "Come here."

The Vikings looked at each other in confusion, but followed his orders. All of them, including Lodin, approaching the pair slowly, dragons in tow.

Red squawked nervously, but Hiccup immediately rubbed the dragon's snout. "Shh, shh. We're all here to help. All of us."

Hanna was the first to step up and touch Red. She brushed her hand lightly against the dragon's neck. Red flinched in response, and Hanna looked at Hiccup uncertainly. Hiccup nodded encouragingly at her.

Licking her lips nervously, Hanna touched Red's dirty scales again. "You're such a pretty color," Hanna commented, a little anxiety ringing in her voice.

Red relaxed a little at Hanna's compliment but he kept his head firmly next to Hiccup.

Hall approached from the other side, walking slowly, and commented, "Wow, Red, you're big. I think you're even bigger than Brighteyes back there."

Brighteyes squawked a little in agreement, a few feet behind Hall.

"You made quite the racket there, Big Red," Tofa said, stepping up with Torfi at her side. "We heard you all the way on the other wing island."

"Yeah, that's quite the set of lungs you got there," Torfi said jokingly.

The siblings came up and patted Red lightly on his side.

Lodin came up next, still clutching his arm, but it already had a bandage on it, courtesy of Aesa. "Hey, the scratch wasn't even that deep. Just stings a little."

Red crooned at him.

"I forgive you," Lodin responded with a grin.

Tuffnut appeared next to Hiccup. "Hi, Red. Nice… er, spikes?"

Hiccup chuckled, and it seemed Red did too, huffing lightly.

Aesa walked up to the other side of Red's head and carefully petted his head. "Hello, Red," she greeted the dragon.

Red seemed to completely relax, eyes closing as he basked in the attention he was getting from the Vikings and the friendly calls from the other dragons.

Toothless came up and snorted a harsh breath into Hiccup's hair, giving his boy a stern look.

"What?" Hiccup whispered innocently, not wanting to disturb Red. "I'm fine, aren't I?"

"Hiccup," Aesa called quietly. "Look at his wing."

Hiccup followed her line of sight to Red's left wing. Now the Nadder was holding it up in the air to allow the Vikings access to his side, Hiccup could get a good look at it. The shredded membrane hung like a ragged curtain from the frame of the wing. Hiccup's stomach twisted.

"How are we going to fix that?" Aesa whispered, worry shining in her eyes.

Hiccup bit his lip. "I don't know yet. But I'll figure it out."

"I'm not sure you can," Aesa said quietly.

"No," Hiccup disagreed, shaking his head. "We'll figure it out. You'll see."

Aesa didn't look as if she believed him, but didn't protest further.

"Alright, Red," Hiccup said. "Let's lay you down so we can get to your injuries. And I think you need your rest."

Red didn't protest as the group of them guided him gently down to lay down on his right side. Hiccup went to bandage Red's injured leg while Torfi and Tofa wrapped his tail. Aesa directed Tuffnut to hold Red's left wing open and steady while she and Hanna tended to it as best they could.

Drott and Hall went off to find another injured dragon, and Aesa reluctantly let Lodin go with them on the condition that Drott and Hall keep a close eye on him.

Once Hiccup finished Red's leg, Aesa didn't let him help any more. So Hiccup ended up sitting next to Red's head, soothing the dragon as Aesa and Hanna's ministrations pulled at the wound.

Torfi and Tofa set the broken spines as well as they could and wrapped the whole injured section of tail, about half, with salve-coated bandages. With farewell pats to Red's neck, the siblings went off to help another dragon.

Toothless curled himself around Hiccup and consequently Red's back.

Hiccup didn't even realize when he dozed off against Red's head.

* * *

"I'm worried," Aesa said, looked past Red's wing at Hiccup as he slept lightly, head resting on Red's horns

Tuffnut couldn't imagine how that could be comfortable, but whatever. This was Hiccup.

"I think Red will be okay," Hanna said reassuringly, missing Aesa's glance at Hiccup.

"I meant Hiccup," Aesa said, a worry line appearing on her forehead.

"He'll be fine too," Hanna said confidently, rubbing a bit of salve across one of the shreds of membrane.

Aesa shook her head. "That's not what I mean. Red's wing isn't reparable. Just look at it!"

Tuffnut shifted his grip on the frame of Red's wing and looked. It was torn pretty badly, beyond repair like Aesa said.

"I'm afraid he's going to run himself into the ground trying to come up with a solution," Aesa explained. "Not to mention helping the other dragons."

"If anyone can do it, Hiccup can," Tuffnut said certainly.

Aesa frowned. "There are things no one can do, Tuffnut."

"Just believe in him," Tuffnut said, glancing over at the sleeping Viking. "He can do it."

"How can you be sure about that?" Aesa asked pointedly, gently applying salve to Red's wing.

Tuffnut cocked his head at her, wondering how someone who spent any time with Hiccup could believe he couldn't build something. Maybe…

"You haven't seen many of his inventions, have you?" Tuffnut guessed.

Aesa looked up at him with a confused frown. "Inventions? You mean like Toothless' tailfin?"

"That's the only one you've seen?" Tuffnut pressed.

Aesa glanced uncertainly over at Hiccup and Toothless. "Uh… I guess."

Tuffnut laughed. "Oh, this is gonna be good."

For the next half hour Tuffnut went into as much detail as he could about the numerous machines Hiccup created during his career as the scourge of Berk. Tuffnut hadn't seen all of them, but he'd certainly heard of all of them. By the time Red's wing was completely tended too (at least, as much as they could do), Hanna was looking at Hiccup like he was the smartest person she had ever met (he probably was) and Aesa was looking at Tuffnut like he was speaking Latin.

"Hiccup built all those… _things_?" she asked incredulously.

"Yep," Tuffnut said, nodding and grinning. "He can build anything Aesa."

Aesa looked at Red's shredded wing dubiously. "I don't know. I don't see how this could _ever_ be fixed. But I guess Hiccup might be able to do it."

"He can," Tuffnut proclaimed.

"I think so too," Hanna agreed.

The three of them carefully laid Red's wing out on the ground. Hanna and Aesa decided to go on to help more dragons, leaving Tuffnut with stern orders not to wake Hiccup.

Tuffnut busied himself with rechecking his new Zippleback friend's bandages and found a Terror with a gash along its side. Eventually the sun began going farther down and Tuffnut decided it was time to wake Hiccup. He and everyone else were going to get an earful if they let him sleep any longer.

"Come on, Hic," Tuffnut cajoled, shaking him lightly on the shoulder. "Time to go eat."

However, Hiccup refused to leave Red. The dragon was especially skittish and fearful. Hiccup was afraid the dragon would lapse back into panic if he wasn't there.

So Tuffnut had to go back and get a huge net they had and bring it over. The two of them coerced a sleepy Red to get up and lay down on it. Then Toothless took one corner, Static took another, and Brighteyes and Cutter (both borrowed from their riders) took the other two. With a huge heave the four dragons carried the injured one to the main island.

They got Red settled in Hiccup's spacious stone house (Toothless grumbled, but conceded), and were finally off to dinner. After they ate, Hiccup refused to go to bed, much to Aesa's dismay, insisting on helping dragons while it was still light out. Before the sun slipped past the horizon Hiccup and Tuffnut had bandaged up a two Gronckles, a Timberjack, and even a Hobblegrunt (they were more common to the north). But, as luck would have it (or just as Hiccup would have it, Tuffnut thought), they didn't end up going to bed at dark. Hiccup, of course, found one of the most injured dragons.

He and Tuffnut spent about an hour trying to approach it. The Nightmare wasn't panicking as Red had been, but it certainly wasn't going to let them anywhere near and it was obviously in pain. Several times it up and flew off, and Tuffnut and Hiccup had to follow him each times. Thankfully, Night Furies and Skrills were some of the fastest dragons, so they never lost the Nightmare. But it was a tiring business, hopping onto their dragons, flying a short spurt, and then jumping off to try to calm and approach the pained Nightmare again. Tuffnut saw Hiccup favoring his leg more than once. But he never asked for a break so Tuffnut never suggested it.

As it turned out, they were finally able to come up to the Nightmare when Hiccup tried to name it, Tuffnut accused him of being unimaginative, and the pair of them spent about five minutes arguing over what to call it; everything from Greenscales to King to Pain-In-My-Eye.

The Nightmare looked at them like they were idiots and snorted smoke at them to get them to stop.

Hiccup and Tuffnut compromised on Smokey. (They both agreed it was a horrible choice and the only one that fit). Smokey reluctantly let them come within reach of him and check his injuries. They bandaged up the most obvious cuts in the waning evening light before Hiccup discovered the emerald green Nightmare's biggest injury. A spearhead was lodged deep in the Nightmare's leg bone. The shaft had been broken off, so no one saw it, but splinters from the shaft were all over the wound.

It was then that Hanna and Aesa arrived with Drott and Hall, ready to force Hiccup to rest.

"Hiccup," Aesa began.

Hiccup, obviously knowing what was going to happen, grabbed Aesa's wrist and pulled her over to look at Smokey's leg. "It's been in there for what, a week and a half now? It needs to come out now before it causes any more damage."

Aesa bit her lip but agreed.

"Hanna," Hiccup said turning. "Get a huge bag of dragon nip. There should be a lot in the shed. Aesa get more bandages. Hall, Drott, Lodin; I need torches and lanterns. Tuffnut, I need buckets of freshwater from the stream on the main isle. Bring as much as you can carry."

The Vikings scattered to gather the things needed. Tuffnut and Staticzapboom made two trips and retrieved twelve buckets with careful flying; Staticzapboom with one in each claw and one in his mouth, Tuffnut with one in each hand and one between his knees. It was precarious, and a little dangerous, but Danger was Tuffnut's middle name, so he managed it.

When they got back the second time Hall and Drott were already setting up poles with lanterns hanging from them while Lodin gathered wood to set up fires along the edge. Aesa, Hanna, and Hiccup focused on Smokey's leg; Hanna calming him with dragon nip while Hiccup and Aesa painstakingly plucked out every single splinter.

Even when the sun had completely vanished and the world was pitch black aside from the fires, lanterns, and glowing dragon eyes, they didn't stop. They just asked Lodin to come hold a lantern close for them and kept going. Smokey's pained cries and whimpers prevented anyone else from sleeping, and no one considered leaving.

An indeterminable time later, Arni showed up on Goldeneye.

"What's going on?" he asked. "Why is everyone here instead of on the main isle?"

Tuffnut pointed to the group surrounding Smokey. "Operation Remove Metal and Wood From Smokey's Leg. Where were you?"

"Patrol," Arni answered, motioning to his orange Nightmare. "Me and Goldeneye were keeping an eye on things. I'm not so good with calming down dragons."

"See anything?" Hall asked, patting Goldeneye lightly on the neck.

"No," Arni replied, shaking his head. "Either they're respecting our space or still don't know where we are."

"Either is good," Drott said.

Arni nodded. "Okay, well, Goldeneye is exhausted, and I don't think I can keep my eyes open much longer. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Hall nodded and patted Arni on the shoulder.

After Arni left, Hiccup turned to Tuffnut, Hall, and Drott, saying, "I need one of you to go back and check up on Red. Make sure he's doing okay, and spend the rest of the night with him. I don't want him to be alone."

The three shared a glance before Drott stepped forward and said, "I'll go. Call me if you guys need anything."

"We will," Hall replied for Hiccup, since the latter had turned back to Smokey.

Drott and and his Gronckle Blackmetal returned to the main isle. Tuffnut and Hall picked a fire and sat next to it with Brighteyes and Staticzapboom. The temperature dropped, far past the point where Tuffnut could see his breath to the point where he could swear each breath turned into snowflakes.

Nope, those were actual snowflakes, from the sky and everything.

"It's snowing," Tuffnut said dully, looking up at the starless sky.

Hall hummed in agreement. "Looks like our fall month it over."

The flurry picked up the pace until it was a harsh blur of snowfall.

Hanna surrendered her spot with dragon nip by Smokey's head to help Hall organize the dragons into a barrier of wings, Cutter being the most helpful dragon in that department. Tuffnut took over and got a look at Hiccup and Aesa's gory work.

Smokey's eyes were dull with pain, exhaustion, and the numbing effect of dragon nip. His leg was a mess. Even though Hiccup and Aesa had cleaned out the splinters, it looked awful. In fact, it looked worse now that they could properly see the whole wound.

Lodin looked a little green himself, and had turned away from the wound. Hiccup and Aesa sat back, both looked tired but clear-sighted. Their hands were covered in Smokey's crimson blood. For the moment, they didn't appear to be doing anything, just frowning down at the wound.

Tuffnut looked curiously at Lodin.

"They're thinking about cutting it off," Lodin explained quietly.

"I don't think we can save it," Aesa said, speaking both to Tuffnut and Hiccup. "It would save him a lot of pain if we went ahead and cut it off."

Hiccup frowned. "But there's a chance he could keep it."

"Hiccup," Aesa said gently. "Just look at the spearhead. It's severed the _entire bone_."

Tuffnut was suddenly very glad he couldn't see directly down into the wound from his angle. Now he understood why Lodin had turned away. Hiccup and Aesa must have stomachs of steel.

"It's too skewed to save," Aesa continued softly. "You know it, Hiccup. It's going to come down to pulling out the spearhead and causing him more pain through the remaining _frayed_ nerve ends, or cutting it off and getting it over with. I admit there is the slightest chance he could keep it, but we would only know that after several months of healing that may or may not happen. Even then… I don't think it'll ever be the same. But, it's up to you."

Hiccup sighed, and looked sadly at Smokey's trance-like gaze. The dragon blinked slowly, one of the few signs of life. Tuffnut could guess what he was thinking. He didn't want the Nightmare to deal with the same thing he was dealing with; the loss of a leg. But, at last, he sighed. "Alright, we'll cut it off."

"Hall!" Aesa called. "We need an axe."

Tuffnut found he had to tune it out when Hiccup and Aesa started discussing where to cut it off. He met Lodin's eyes, and the other dragon rider looked decidedly squeamish. Too soon, Hall returned with an axe. Hiccup told him to clean it and sterilize it with hot water.

While Hall and Brighteyes did that, Hiccup sent Hanna to retrieve Drott. Hiccup and Aesa cleaned the leg as best they could, readied the bandages they would need and cleaned their own hands.

"Alright," Hiccup said, standing, once everything was ready. "Drott, can you cut? You're the best one to get it done in one hit."

Drott nodded and took the axe from Hall.

"The rest of you, I'm going to need you all to hold him down," Hiccup said. "Hanna, see if you can get him to take some more dragon nip. Lodin, you help her hold down his head. Hall, Tuffnut, Aesa, hold down his body. Drott, as soon as you're done I'll need you to help me hold down his legs."

The group nodded and followed his instructions. When everyone was in position, Hiccup looked up at Drott and said, "Do it."

The dragon scream that followed echoed across the waves and reverberated in everyone's ears. Smokey thrashed wildly, struggling fruitlessly against the pain. The dragon nip didn't seem to help the pain at all. However, already weak and exhausted, Smokey was unable to throw off the Vikings. Even so, it took half an hour before he was calm enough for Hiccup and Aesa to bandage the bleeding leg.

Drott left to take care of Red again, and the rest of them spent the remaining nighttime hours soothing the quivering Nightmare, keeping the snow away, and keeping him warm.

Sleep. Hah. No one was sleeping after that. Especially not if another dragon might have an injury just as bad. As soon as it was light enough, Hanna was chosen to stay with Smokey. Cutter remained her only barrier against the snowstorm, which thankfully had abated in force. The rest of them split into ones to continue helping injured dragons.

Tuffnut climbed onto Static, tired like the rest but, also like the rest, unwilling to sleep after what just happened.

Hah. Sleep. No.

* * *

**A/N: Yeesh, this one's a whopper. And it took forever. And I decided last minute to do NaNoWrimo. And then I wrote 7k+ words of this instead :P I'm so behind. I just wanted to give you guys a feel for the workload these guys have and BOOM 7k words. I think this is the longest chapter yet. ****It's hard to pick a favorite part out of this one for me. How about you guys?**** Anywho, sorry about the wait.**

**Now, thank you guys so much for your input! I got a lot of opinions last chapter for the continuation or not of this story, and the overwhelming majority said 1.5 (provided a sequel is gauranteed). So that's what I'm gonna do. To the few who wanted option 1 I'm gonna try to close off as best I can with still leaving a good bit of suspense for the rest of the story. Optioned 2ers, cheer me on and we might just get through multiple sequels into the great unknown.**

****Next, I have ANOTHER question for you guys, since we took option 1.5... now we need a series name (yes, need), and I haven't a clue. So, hit me with your best shot, guys, we're playing the naming game again (insert Hiccup cringing).****

**Anonymous, Toothless lover 13, Guest, Shielded Myth, ****Xiphonlynx, Guest, CloudedPen7, blue mountain fairy, animemusic54, superfanman217, RoseJustice, Guest, Slytherin131, wolfnutz4u, and DRINKnotTHINK13. ****Thank you guys for your input! I really did consider what you guys wanted when I was thinking about how to continue.**

**NightsAnger: Hmm, I'm still trying to figure out how, when, and why Valka is going to show up. What I have in mind doesn't really have a good spot to stick her in. I'll see if there's a good spot in the hopeful sequel, although any input/ideas you have are more than welcome (in other words, please tell. I'm really stuck on her).**

**Dragonwriterofthenight: Oh I know, I hate it when they go cheesy. Please warn me if I start leaning toward cheesy. Lol, I'm not sure short it the right word for it. We've broken 50k on the word count :) But I think will be a sequel for the story to continue through.**

**Guest (who reviewed on the 23rd a really long review): Yours was actually the one the convinced me the most. I think you're right. It does seem ready for an ending, climax, resolution and everything. Thanks for spelling that out for me :) On your side note: I will try to fit him in. He does have a role but I'll see if I can get him in sooner or emphasize his role.**

**FlowerofApril: Thanks for the input, itty bitty thingies fixed. Will do suspense.**

**Angryhenry: I'm glad, hopeful it will be... once I get to it.**

**Bteam: Thanks :)**

**ImagineShine: Shhh! *coversmouthandwhispers* **they'll hear you. But yes, I will be continuing posthaste. Thank you for the Thor voice, very helpful.

**NTYTekHTTYDFan: I've got one in mind :) Thanks :)**

**sierra. stein brecher: :D just a little bit. I'm glad you liked it.**

**fanfic_addict21: Haha, I have a lot of things in mind for the AU :D namely several sequels. Anyways, I'm really glad you're enjoying it. Thanks for the advice :)**

**faisyah865: I'M SORRY *cringes* it was life! it was life! ... ... At least it wasn't a month this time... right? Pleasedon'thurtmeI'mtoprettytodie.**

**Alex. Wharrier: haha, King of the World, huh? That's ambitious, maybe we'll just stick to King of the Wilderwest. That okay? I'm going for the sequel, but I think I can reach the depths of the unknown with a little cheering on :) Thanks for the support :) I really appreciate it.**

**Pheonex305: Ah, thanks! You're review just made me extra happy. I'm gonna continue into the depths through sequels. I hope you'll follow!**

**Raindrop Sparkles: :D lol, okay, I'm gonna finish as best I can, and then continue on with those brave (or crazy) enough to keep going.**

**person unknown 686: Okay :D thanks.**

**GokuIsMyAncestor: Thanks, but I already chose a name.**


	14. The Vikings Break for Lunch

**Disclaimer: LAST DISCLAIMER OF THIS STORY GUYZ.**

**Chapter 14**

**The Vikings Break for Lunch, Literally and Figuratively**

Hiccup was immensely pleased with himself when he slid off Toothless and onto his foot and prosthetic without wincing at all, which wasn't to say there wasn't any pain, but that he masked it well. It wasn't actually necessary that he mask it since he had an actual mask covering his face, but in his mind, it was the thought that counted. Patting Toothless on the shoulder, Hiccup turned and watched his entourage land. He had left Hall at home to watch over things and tend to the dragons, so he'd brought Aesa for his voice of reason and Arni and Tuffnut for backup. Hiccup didn't necessarily expect anything to go south, but it never hurt to be prepared.

"Thorir!" someone shouted.

Hiccup almost didn't respond until he remembered that 'Thorir' was his 'name.' Turning, he spotted Astrid and Ruffnut jogging toward them from the direction of the docks.

Toothless perked up and grinned toothlessly at them.

"Hey," Hiccup said, poking the dragon in the shoulder. "Scary, intimidating offspring of lightning and death, remember?"

Toothless huffed and glared at him.

"Better," Hiccup said, fighting a grin.

Tuffnut and Static came up beside him. "Hey," Tuffnut said, punching Ruffnut in the shoulder as she and Astrid stopped in front of them.

"Hey!" Ruffnut said, punching him back.

Astrid snorted and rolled her eyes. "Everyone has been here since yesterday," Astrid told him. "They wanted to convene before you got here to decide collectively what to do after deciding individually."

"And have they decided in our favor?" Hiccup asked.

"We weren't allowed in," Astrid answered, frowning. "We barely convinced the chief to let us come to the meeting island in the first place."

"Oh," Hiccup said, feeling his nerves rise a little.

"We listened anyway," Ruffnut said cheerfully.

Hiccup raised his eyebrows and looked at Astrid incredulously, forgetting that he was wearing his mask. But Astrid seemed to understand and just shrugged unabashedly. Hiccup frowned. "She's been a bad influence on you," he said bluntly.

Astrid smirked and Ruffnut cackled.

Hiccup was slightly scared and very glad the girls were on his side.

"They haven't exactly reached a conclusion on what they want to do collectively," Astrid said. "But I think you're going to be okay about getting them to stop fighting dragons."

"But you know what that means, right?" Aesa said, appearing on the other side of Toothless.

The four of them startled a little (Astrid the least visibly) at Aesa's soundless and unnoticed approach.

"What?" Hiccup asked, glad she couldn't see his embarrassment at having been scared so easily.

"Vikings are going to stop fighting dragons," Aesa said, echoing Astrid. "Which means they're going to start fighting each other again."

Ruffnut and Tuffnut exchanged excited grins (Ruffnut couldn't see Tuffnut's grin, but they were twins, so Hiccup guessed that Tuffnut's mask didn't really matter). Static looked like he couldn't care less. Toothless groaned. Hiccup gave Astrid and uneasy look, but she just nodded like she had expected as much.

"Yes," Astrid said. "They probably will. Peace isn't really a Viking thing. Once they stop fighting dragons they'll turn on each other."

Hiccup scowled. "What are you two saying? I shouldn't be trying for peace?"

"No no," Aesa said quickly, reaching up to pull her hood down a little (she couldn't stand the masks so had opted for a heavy woolen cloak with a huge hood). "Not at all. Viking peace would be, ideally, fighting confined to within tribes, with maybe a blood feud here and there to be realistic. But it is entirely possible that we'll have inter-tribal fighting after this. We have to be prepared for that. Tensions will be high in there, and we don't want to sow any seeds of an actual war."

Astrid nodded in agreement. "Which will be hard, considering we have Dagur here and he's been pushing for discord since the talks yesterday."

"And being annoyingly subtle about it," Ruffnut added with a scowl. "So no one really realizes it."

"Dense idiots," Astrid muttered.

Hiccup smirked and was reminded why he had brought Aesa and why he liked Astrid. "What about everyone else? Anyone in particular against me?"

Ruffnut and Astrid shared considering looks, and Ruffnut said, "Well, Grimskull and Ruthless have been pretty buddy-buddy with Dagur."

"Expected," Hiccup acknowledged.

"Norbert's related to Dagur," Astrid added. "Uncle or something. He's a nutjob for sure, but he isn't as against you as Dagur. Still, I'm not sure where he'll stand in the end. I couldn't figure him out."

"Nobody can," Ruffnut said, crossing her arms. "Everybody was really confused by him yesterday. He kept switching sides."

"That's comforting," Hiccup said, frowning. "What about the people who don't hate me?"

"Stoick's on the fence," Ruffnut said.

"But leaning your way, I think," Astrid added. "He pointed out a few things about the dragons not attacking since and things like that. He seemed to be pretty impressed by Toothless."

Toothless straightened importantly, causing everyone to chuckle lightly. He nudged Hiccup's shoulder like he was saying, _Hear that? I _am_ impressive._

Hiccup laughed. "Yes, I hear. You're impressive."

"Magadon and Bertha are definitely on your side," Astrid continued. "Bearbone too, I think."

"Who isn't here?" Aesa asked, patting Scorch, who was curled on her shoulders.

"The Visithugs and the Lava Louts," Ruffnut answered.

"And the Outcasts, of course," Astrid added. "As far as anyone has heard they're perfectly content fighting dragons and continuing their slave trade. They didn't even care about getting rid of the Nest."

Hiccup frowned. "Well, at least they're someone to fight I guess."

"Maybe." Astrid shrugged. "But right now you need to worry about the tribes that are here. Then you can talk about conquering the other tribes."

Hiccup snorted. "I'd rather not conquer them."

Astrid raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'm pretty sure you're not going to change their minds."

Hiccup just shrugged. That's exactly what he thought.

"Well, anyway," Astrid said, straightening. "The only reason Ruff and I are here is because we convinced Stoick we could be the official liaisons. So we formally welcome you to the official meeting place of the tribes and to the Thing. Ta-da."

Tuffnut and Ruffnut snickered at Astrid's _informally_ deadpan welcome, and Hiccup smirked behind his mask. "Thank you, Astrid."

"Every Chief is bringing one adviser into the meeting hall," Astrid continued. "Everyone else is to stay out here while you lot chat."

For a moment Hiccup was tempted to ask Astrid to be his advisor. He could swing words and she could swing her axe. Hiccup smirked at the mental picture. But alas, he didn't think his father would be okay with that arrangement.

Looking over his shoulder, Hiccup saw Arni absently scratching Goldeneye's scales. "Arni!" he called.

Arni looked up and hurried over. "Yeah, Chief?"

"You and Tuff are staying out here," Hiccup said. "Keep your eyes peeled, both of you."

Arni nodded.

Hiccup turned back to Astrid. "Wish me luck?"

Astrid smiled. "Good luck."

Ruffnut grinned and leaned close to Astrid. She whispered, quite loudly, "Maybe you should give him a good luck kiss."

Astrid elbowed Ruffnut sharply in the stomach, and Hiccup felt his face heat up. _Thank Odin for this mask_.

Tuffnut snickered while Aesa and Arni politely tried to cover up their smiles.

"Er… ahem, yeah, anyway. See you in a little while, I guess," Hiccup said awkwardly. "C'mon, Aesa."

Ruffnut and Tuffnut snickered louder, and Hiccup glared ineffectually at both of them. Shaking off his embarrassment as best he could, Hiccup started toward the meeting hall where the other chiefs were just entering. Toothless followed him.

Hiccup stopped and turned to his best friend. "I don't think you should come, buddy."

Toothless gave him a 'nice try, not going to happen' look.

"I'm serious," Hiccup said firmly. "I can stand on my own this time. I think I should do this by myself."

Toothless gave him a stubborn glare that said he wasn't budging.

"Look, I want them to be as open with me as possible," Hiccup explained. "They might not be if you're there."

Toothless looked unimpressed. He was probably okay if they weren't open about some things.

"You can be right outside the door with Scorch and Scratch," Hiccup promised. "I'll call you if I need you."

Toothless's expression quickly morphed into one of 'don't do this to me.'

"You'll be fine, you big baby," Hiccup said as Aesa smirked at Toothless and stroked Scratch.

"Go on," Aesa said to her dragons. "Stay with Toothless."

The two Terrible Terrors obligingly swarmed Toothless, causing the Night Fury to cringe and look helplessly at Hiccup.

Chuckling at Toothless's discomfort, Hiccup motioned for Aesa to followed and said, "We'll be back, Toothless. Don't worry."

With that the two Vikings hurried towards the meeting hall, slipping in after everyone else. Hiccup and Aesa were met by the sight of a fire-lit room, very similar to the Great Hall on Berk. Like they had only a few weeks ago back on Berk, the Chiefs gathered in a circle around the flickering fire in the center of the room, advisers at their right hand.

Hiccup took a deep breath and stepped up to the wall that guarded the fire. This was it. As per custom, the chiefs disarmed themselves and set their multitude of weapons on the stone wall ringing the fire.

"Well, now," Magadon the Murderous of the Meathead tribe said, his one good eye fixed on Hiccup, the other covered with a golden metal eye patch. "Dragons."

Hiccup rolled his eyes, hearing a quiet, exasperated snort from Aesa. It was just like the Vikings to skip all pleasantries and introductions and get to the root of the issue. At least they didn't waste time.

"Yes, dragons," Hiccup echoed, trying to keep the amusement out of his voice. "I understand you've discussed this with your tribes and come to a decision?"

"We have," Bearbone the Fierce, Chief of the Bashem-Oiks, said. "Not the same decision but we all have one."

"BUT!" cut in the voice of Hiccup's stressed imagination. "There's something else important we need to discuss."

Hiccup turned his glare on Dagur the Deranged, who grinned in a fashion befitting his name. Everyone else looked at Dagur in confusion. Evidently this wasn't something Dagur had brought up yesterday.

"I don't think we can even _listen_ to you yet." Dagur crowed, looking positively giddy.

"You already have," Hiccup sneered, dread twisting in his stomach. What was he up to now?

"Well, that's because we hadn't even considered some things yet," Dagur said cheerfully. "You see, Viking chiefs only take advice from Viking warriors, and Viking chiefs only work with Viking warriors, and Vikings Chiefs must _be_ Viking warriors."

"What are you saying, Dagur," Hiccup snapped. "Spit it out."

"Yeah," Bertha the Brave, Chief of the Bog-Burglars, agreed. "Get to the point, _boy_."

Dagur sniffed at being called _'boy'_ but, thankfully, got to the point. "_Thorir_ here, is not a Viking Warrior. None of his little dragon riders are either."

"What do you mean, Dagur?" Ruthless the Foul, Chief of the Uglithugs, said in a sickly sweet voice that suggested he knew exactly what Dagur was saying. They had probably discussed this beforehand, Hiccup thought.

"Well," Dagur said, grinning at all the chiefs. "He hasn't gone through the initiation into a Viking tribe, he hasn't gone through the warrior's training, and he hasn't passed the final rites to becoming a true Viking warrior. I brought this issue up with the Lawspeaker yesterday, and it really is a must."

"Oi," Gobber spoke up. "Where is that Lawspeaker anyway?"

"Sleeping," Bearbone grunted.

"We'll try to wake him up for lunch," Magadon said. "Until then, there's not much hope."

_"Anyways,"_ Dagur said, not at all appreciating the interruption. "He really must be a true Viking warrior before we do anything he wants. The Lawspeaker said so."

The Viking chiefs all looked at one another a little uncertainly and whispered a little with their advisors while Dagur rocked back on his heels, looking immensely satisfied. His face grated on Hiccup's nerves.

"Hiccup," Aesa whispered, touching his elbow.

Hiccup tilted his head towards her.

"Those rites have been almost completely ignored for the last generation," Aesa said quietly. "The generation before barely even passed since we were so focused on fighting the dragons. They've been steadily growing into misuse."

"I know," Hiccup whispered back. "And no one would have cared. But Dagur spoke to the Lawspeaker. And, you know, his word is kind of _law._"

"But they don't actually care about the rites," Aesa pressed. "And I can guarantee you that Dagur didn't complete the _full_ rites, even if his father made him go through the rest of it. The final ones consisted of inter-tribal tournaments. I'm just saying, there may be a way around this."

"Well, what do you say Thorir," Grimskull said smugly.

What did he say indeed… Hiccup turned back to the chiefs and said dryly. "I killed the biggest dragon a Viking has ever seen, what more do you want?"

"The lad's got a point," Stoick said, chuckling.

The other chiefs, excluding Dagur, Ruthless, and Grimskull, chuckled as well.

"Good job," Aesa whispered.

Dagur floundered for a moment, but drew himself up and said, "He still hasn't completed the rites."

"Neither have you," Hiccup shot back. "Or did someone have a full Viking tournament while I wasn't looking?"

A round of chortles followed his comment, and Dagur blustered again.

"I've had more than you!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, you killed a queen dragon too?" Hiccup asked innocently.

The laughter that followed had Dagur quite red in the face. An idea presented itself in Hiccup's mind and he pressed his advantage.

"But, you know, Dagur, you're right," Hiccup said, grinning behind his mask. "Now that we _won't_ be fighting dragons anymore, it's the perfect time to reintroduce the rites of a Viking warrior. In fact, it would be a great opportunity to implement the dragon training into the tribes. Training can be a bit dangerous, you know. Only a true Viking warrior could do it."

Dagur looking thunderous, and Grimskull and Ruthless shifted uneasily on either side of him. Evidently they had decided to follow Dagur's lead and, obviously, it wasn't working out as planned.

"Well, the Bog-Burglars will stop fighting dragons," Bertha boomed. "If they don't raid us anymore, we won't kill 'em. And we'd be willing to train dragons."

"The Bashem-Oiks will stop too," Bearbone agreed.

Stoick glanced at Gobber and nodded. "Us as well."

"The Meatheads will too," Magadon said. "And, if I may, we are at your service."

"And what about you four?" Hiccup prompted, looking towards Norbert the Nutjob, Ruthless, Grimskull, and the still simmering Dagur.

The four chiefs teetered for a moment. They had obviously been the ones who didn't want to, but Hiccup had practically offered to give dragons to those that agreed to stop. Well, sort of. There would be a bit more to it than that, but Hiccup would have to sort out the details out later.

"Alright then," Grimskull muttered. "But if they attack us, we attack them."

Ruthless nodded too, but he was scowling deeply.

"WELL THEN!" Norbert the Nutjob shouted unexpectedly, making the whole room jump and cringe. "GUESS THAT'S THAT."

"Er, yeah, I guess it is," Hiccup mumbled uncertainly, frowning at the crazed Viking chief.

"Fine," Dagur snarled. "We won't attack."

Hiccup looked at the four chiefs and wondered if they would keep their word. In all honesty, he had no clue about Norbert, but the other three may well be lying through their gritted teeth. It wouldn't really surprise him.

"Good, that's settled, I want lunch," Gobber said suddenly.

Hiccup raised his eyebrows. That was… anticlimactic. And fast.

The other chiefs murmured in agreement, holding their stomachs. Aesa snorted at the sight, and Hiccup couldn't help but agree with the sentiment. Vikings and their food, he thought, shaking his head.

"We'll discuss the rites of Viking Warriors next time," Magadon said.

The Vikings all retrieved their weapons (Dagur with much more force than necessary) and filed out of the meeting hall.

"That was… almost easy," Aesa said, sounding surprised and confused.

"It wasn't last time," Hiccup said. "They must have got out most of their anger and shouting yesterday."

Aesa snorted again. "I guess so. They probably need to get back to their own islands too, though. They have a lot of repairs to get done, people and boats."

Hiccup nodded. "Us too. Not the boats obviously, but people and dragons."

Aesa nodded too. "Yeah, we may as well get going. This is a lot better than I'd hoped."

They left the meeting hall, following the wake of the other Vikings. As soon as Hiccup stepped out the door he was rammed into the wall by a red faced Dagur.

"This isn't over, _Hiccup_," he snarled.

"I wouldn't have expected it to be," Hiccup returned calmly, though his calm only served to anger Dagur.

"I _will_ kill you," he growled.

"You'll certainly try," Hiccup agreed. "Now succeeding? That's where you'll really have to put in an effort."

Hiccup imagined that Dagur's face would have gotten redder if it wasn't a lovely shade of tomato already.

"Troubles, Chief?" Tuffnut called, trotting up to them casually.

"And you…" Dagur said, turning to look at Tuffnut, utterly disgusted.

"And me what?" Tuffnut asked in confusion.

Dagur scowled and stormed away.

"Wow, I think he might hate you almost as much as he hates me," Hiccup mused, rolling his shoulder and wincing at the sting from the Nadder spine wound. Hopefully he wouldn't bruise from Dagur's roughness

"Really?" Tuffnut asked, grinning. "Do I have an archenemy already?"

"Not a good thing, Tuff," Hiccup said, rolling his eyes.

"Says you," Tuffnut scoffed.

Hiccup snorted. "Come on, let's go. We have a lot to get done back home."

* * *

When they got back home, they did not get straight back to work though. Instead, they spent the remainder of the day celebrating, as Tuffnut and Aesa insisted. Aesa roped Tofa, Hanna, Drott, and Hall into helping her prepare a feast to commemorate the end of the dragon war and the start of a new age. The dragons either played with their Vikings or caught enough fish for the rest of the dragons to feast with them.

The atmosphere was jovial and Hiccup found his face hurt from grinning. It was a welcome change after their first year of scrounging around for a way of life and then fighting Dagur, and all the stress that followed. Now he had a great group of people he could call _friends,_ which was a novelty in and of itself. Plus, he had the best friend in the world by his side 24/7, something he couldn't do on Berk.

Toothless was rather cheerful as well. His human was smiling again, they lived exactly how they wanted, and he had enough fish to make his belly feel warm with contentment. In fact, that adjective described Toothless whole life right now—content. And since no dragon had truly been content since the Red Death had taken charge so many years ago, it was a vast improvement.

Tuffnut was a little sad to be missing his sister, but very, very excited for the adventure ahead. He had the coolest dragon _ever_ (besides a Night Fury), and he could practically feel danger and excitement on the horizon. (Plus, he might even have an archenemy!)

Ruffnut and Astrid returned home to Berk. The former missed her brother and regretted not being in on his adventure, but she knew she would have her own soon. The latter was wondering what she'd be able to swing her axe at next since there wouldn't be any dragons to fight and thinking about ways to convince Stoick that, more than not fighting dragons, he should let her get one of her own.

Stoick didn't say a word on his return journey. All he could think about was how much _better_ things could have been if Hiccup had waited a year before he decided to befriend a dragon. Gobber thought much the same, wishing he knew how to contact his old apprentice.

Dagur went back to his island in a right fit of fury, imagining all the different and painful ways to kill his most irritating enemy. He wasn't ready to let Hiccup just win this. As soon as he got home scaled heads were going to roll…

Magadon extended a special invitation to Thorir the First dragon rider, offering him access to the Meathead Public Library should he ever want it. He wanted Thorir to be on his side with whatever came up in the future.

The rest of the chiefs thought about the future in a different light, wondering how life was going to change… because it would, quite drastically, change.

All in all, the barbaric archipelago was in a lull—the calm before the storm, if you will. Things would settle down for a while and the Vikings would experience a transitional stage of peace. Villians would plot, heroes would plan, and the rest would wait.

But things never stay calm where Viking live, not for very long. They live in quite a stormy area. It wouldn't be long before the First and the Only rose up to face their next great, turbulent challenge.

Besides, who doesn't love treasure hunts?

_THE END_

* * *

**AN: Okay, first off, I'm _really_ sorry I took so long to get this to you guys. Last few months were busier than expected. But anyway, WE'RE DONE! Well, just for now, obviously, but phase one is complete. I'm still taking any suggestions for series/story titles if you have any, and thank you everyone if gave ideas already. My plan now it to spruce up this story a little grammar-wise and stuff before I move on, but I need to plan out the sequel first, so it may be a little while, but we'll get there. And, fair warning, I do I have another HTTYD story idea having to do with time travel (which I love) that I've already completed one or two chapters of, so you may or may not see that first. Just warning you.**

**Anyway, thank you all so much for reading! I love you all!**

**Aisha: Thank you! :) And yes, it is Barf and Belch.**

**Childatheart28: Indeed. Staticzapboom is pretty fun for a name :D**

**ImagineShine: Hmm, that's a good one, thanks :) I'll think on that one. And yes, :P They need their rest. They'll get a little...**

**Dargonwriterofthenight: Thank you! HTTYD2, I'm afraid, is a bit far off, I definitely want to do a few years in between instead of jumping 5 years, or 4 since it's already been 1 since HTTYD1, but I do want to get there. Drago and Eret are such interesting characters, not to mention Valka. Thanks for the input, and the long review :D I appreciate both of them.**

**blue mountain fairy: Hm, someone else suggested the same thing. Maybe that means it's a good idea :) Thanks for the input!**

**Sierra .steinbrecher: Yeah, I know it wasn't nice :P but wars and battles are bloody and life is full of tough decision, esp. for leaders, you're right. But those dragons have two other injured people to look out for them!**

**angryhenry: :D thanks**

**hiccupfan45-TheChanceyColborn: Aw, thanks :D sorry about the delay, hopefully you won't have to wait so long again!  
NTYTekHTTYDfan: yeah, it'll be tough for him, but he'll get though it. Sorry you had to wait so long again!  
DRINKnotTHINK13: thank you :) I'm glad.**

**fanfic-addit21: Yeah, that's about right :D**

**Little Did You Know: It is so.**

**WikiSorcerer: Missed a few important bits, did you? Well, I explained all that in earlier chapters, but since you missed it: Dagur _did_ recognize Hiccup, he was holding back the information so that he could use at as leverage in the future. He wants to be able to hold the knowledge of Hiccup's identity over Hiccup's head. So he's keeping it to himself for now. He does _not_ have the same voice, he's masking it with his nifty little Stoick-impression, which he's gotten pretty good at. He's also _not_ the same height. It's been a year since he left Berk, which I said in chapter 1, so he is taller. Remember he's 6'1'' in the sequel, he does quite a bit of growing. The fact that he's the only one with a Night Fury who has a fake tail-fin is working for him. If you'll recall, Hiccup left on the Monstrous Nightmare and met up with Toothless. Only Astrid, and later Ruffnut, actually know that Hiccup has a Night Fury. So when looking for Hiccup among the dragon riders, the Berkians look for a red Nightmare, not a Night Fury. Hope that clears things up for you :)**

**Twilightserious: A good thought, I might get into that, we'll just have to see. Which other Vikings were you referring to?**

**Riverat73: Thanks :D**

**Guest: Yes, I can.**

**HTTYDFan85: Thanks you so much :) and I'm so sorry for the wait. But I've finished! I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Guest: I'm sorry for the wait, thank you for reminding me though :)**

**Guest: Hmm, it is a little weird. I'm having troubles myself, I admit.**

**Rain of the Forest: Yeah, it was kind of painful to write.**

Thank you all so much!

~ June Odyssey


	15. Sequel

**Author's After Note:**

**The long-awaited sequel is here! AT LAST! It's titled The First and the Only: The Pirate King's Treasure. Look for it on blu-ray and DVD...**

**Kidding, sorry, couldn't resist. Anyone, thanks to those who suggest the series title being what it is. I'm gonna reply to the reviews I got for the last chapter (overdue, I know, but you can skip if you don't care), and then you all can mosey over to The Pirate King's Treasure and tell me what you think.**

blue mountain fairy: Thank you :) I agonized over that ending.

silvereyes: Not fast, but the sequel is here. I hope you LOVEEEEE it just as much :)

Anonymous: Thanks, fixed it.

61394: Thank you.

Hiccup-ALG: The sequel is served, enjoy your reading.

supersandman86: Thank you so much! And thank you for putting up with my sporadic updates :)

Riverat73: Thanks :)

Toothless lover 13: I went with something else, but thanks for the suggestion.

NTYTekHTTYDFan: Oops, sorry, I'll work on getting more Hiccstrid in.

Nyx-TheChanceyColborn: Haha, sorry, I didn't realize everybody was waiting for the Hiccstrid to show up :P I'll see if I can work that in more with the sequel.

anonymous: done.

AButterfly'sTrueColors: Yep, that's what that means. And here it is! :D Enjoy

Lina Thanatos: Thanks, fixed it.

**Hope to see you all in The Pirate King's Treasure!**

**~June**


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